


Spread Your Wings

by braverose



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Minor Character(s), Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Third Person, Protective Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Rating May Change, Slow Burn, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2020-05-31 15:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19428466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/braverose/pseuds/braverose
Summary: Adora was 16 when the Braus family adopted her. She had been living in the village of Dauper in Wall Rose since they day of the loss of Wall Maria, the day her parents apologized for leaving her behind. A year later, Adora and her adoptive sister, Sasha Braus, join the military, and Adora finds certain things about herself and what she can do to fix the world, but it isn’t as simple as it seems. And it doesnvt get any easier when she ends in the Survey Corps and starts dealing with Captain Levi and her sudden incomprehensible feelings for him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m horrible when writing notes but first of all thanks for clicking!  
> so uhm i’m basically writing the aot story (until certain point) since the start but obviously changing a few things (you’ll notice bigger changes in next chapters) and of course including my oc  
> now i made that clear, this first chapter is just mainly for introducing adora’s character and her story plus how the story develops with her in it until trost’s defense arc  
> i have two more chapters written and in the next one the interactions between levi and adora start as well as some of her unknown... abilities??? but i’ll continue uploading depending if people like this first chapter or not, so of course kudos and comments are highly appreciated, they give me a lot of motivation to go on with this since now i’m only testing the waters  
> in case i continue uploading i promise the next chapters will focuse more in developing the relationship between levi and adora  
> important!!!! take into account english isn’t my first language so i apologize in advance for the possible errors (this doesn’t mean i asked for corrections)  
> disclaimer: i don’t own attack on titan or its characters, only my oc

“Do you see them?” Her father asked in a serious tone.

“I do.” She said flatly. Her clear blue eyes didn’t look away from it. The Colossal Titan has just destroyed the district of Shiganshina’s entrance and the Armoured Titan had just broken a part of Wall Maria, both creating enormous holes in it so smaller brainless titans could enter.

“They’re our enemies. You have to fight against them. Remember what me and your mother had taught you all these years.”

She just nodded, knowing what she had to do.

Adora had been raised for that moment since she had memory, and now at her 16 years of age, she was fully prepared for that.

“All these years you’ve been doing great. I’m so proud of you… and you mother is too.”

“I know.” She smiled weakly. “I hope I can be as strong and brave as she is someday.”

“You will. Now we should be going.”

But when they were about to jump, they heard a strange noise behind them, and a giant rock directed towards them at an abnormal speed and her father shielding her was the last thing she saw before passing out from the impact.

❖ 

When Adora opened her eyes again, she was lying on a bed with a sleeping Sasha by her side. She noticed she was sweating and breathing heavily, locks of her dark hair stuck to her forehead. Another nightmare.

That wasn’t the first one she had in the two weeks she had spent in the village of Dauper, her new home. When the Colossal Titan destroyed Shiganshina and Armoured titans broke Wall Maria, she remembered being at home with her parents, who didn’t seem alarmed at all knowing what was happening out there. They were sad. Her mother kissed her forehead and told her she loved her and will always be with her even if she had to go, and then her father hugged her tightly and apologized – Adora didn’t know what for in that moment. Next thing she knew, she was lying in the same bed she was now, with Sasha sitting on a chair next to her eating the food which was supposed to be Adora’s.

The story of how Adora and Sasha met wasn’t particularly special. When she was younger, her parents often took Adora to Dauper, and during one of those visits she met Sasha Braus, a girl who she got on with pretty well. Sasha’s appetite seemed endless and she may not be the smartest girl since she thought more with her stomach rather than her brain, but overall she was a really kind-hearted girl who cared a lot about her loved ones and was serious and brave when she had to be.

Adora was told that her dad asked Sasha’s to take care of her from then on with the only explanations of _fighting titans is too dangerous for our daughter_ and _we just can’t run away_. That broke Adora’s heart into pieces. She knew her parents didn’t just make an excuse to abandon her, she knew them, they must have had an important reason than just going to fight titans, they weren’t even soldiers. But Adora couldn’t help to feel sad and just empty, knowing she probably wouldn’t see them ever again. Besides, with the loss of Wall Maria now there were thousands of refugees in Wall Rose, and for the Braus family taking care of another child meant one more person to feed in the house, so Adora didn’t really know why they accepted to take care of her without hesitation. The first days she spent in Dauper, she didn’t sleep, talk or eat – the latter didn’t bother much to Sasha since she ate all the food Adora didn’t.

But as days passed by, Sasha’s worry grew deeper.

“Hey… you should eat.” Sasha said one day, getting closer to the bed Adora was lying on and offering her food – when Sasha offered her own food meant she was extremely worried. “You haven’t opened your mouth to either talk or eat since your father brought you here.” Adora kept silent. “Please… say something. I know we aren’t even friends but… I don’t want you to starve to death.” Sasha was about to cry by then. “I know you must be hurt. I can’t say I understand you but… let me help. Please.” She begged again. “I’ll stay by your side.”

Those words made the first human reaction Adora had in days. She cried. “Will you?” She asked, her voice breaking.

“Yes! Yes I will! I promise you!” Sasha took Adora’s hands in hers, her eyes with tears of joy.

From that day on, Adora recovered her energy little by little and went on with a normal life, with Sasha by her side. They both spent most days in the forest, hunting or just playing. Sasha taught her how to use a bow, though Adora was already quite skilled when using weapons like knives or axes since her dad taught her how to use them when she was younger, and that eventually led him to train her in hand to hand combat as well. Because of that, she had always been in good shape, so she quickly got used to run through the forest and hunt. She never questioned why her father had been training her though.

As months passed by, Adora felt then completely comfortable with her life as it was then. Sasha’s family became her own, and all of them became so attached to her to the point Sasha’s father asked her one day if Adora wanted to take their surname. It took her some days to think about it since it felt wrong, like forgetting her parents and where she came from. But at the same time, the Braus family practically adopted her and gave her a new home and a new life as well, and she was proud to call them her family. She agreed, and from then on her name was Adora Braus.

Adora spent a year living in Dauper with her new family, and life for her was relaxed and happy now. She couldn’t help but remember her old one sometimes, but it wasn’t like she could forget everything she went through her first 16 years of life, that was unavoidable. Adora used to live with her parents near Shiganshina, in a house up in the mountains near Mikasa’s, her first friend ever, whom she spent a lot of time with before her parents were murdered – Adora was there with Eren the day that happened, and they both saved Mikasa’s life. About Eren, he was the closest of a best friend Adora had. Her dad and Grisha, Eren’s father, were really close friends and spent quite a lot of time together, so Adora and Eren ended up being really good friends, which eventually ended in Eren introducing her to Armin. Even if Adora was older than them, she was significantly smaller and quiet most of the time, which made Eren and Mikasa unconsciously act like protective older siblings with her sometimes. Mikasa was always grateful for having Adora and Eren since they saved her life, and the boy loved spending time with Adora. About Armin, the blond boy shared with her a lot of his thoughts about the world beyond the Walls since she seemed interested in it too, and they could spend hours and hours speculating about what would the ocean be like. Adora missed them a lot during the time she was in Dauper. She didn’t even know if they were alive, and preferred not to think about it very much. Her mind had assumed her parents and three old friends were probably dead, but she’d never say it out loud.

One day after hunting, Adora and Sasha were lying on the grass when Sasha asked, almost in a whisper. “Adora, what if we join the military?”

The question took Adora by surprise, but the idea was appealing. That wasn’t the first time that idea came to her mind, she wanted to become stronger and learn how to fight titans, in case they came back. Besides, she had Sasha with her, she wouldn’t be alone, so she didn’t hesitate to answer. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

“Really?” Sasha gave her a surprised look. “I thought you’d want to at least think about it a little more.”

“Honestly, I’ve been thinking about it for weeks now. But I wasn’t sure if I should tell you since titans really scare you. And they won’t let you eat as much as you do here.”

“Well that’s true… but I still want to. And I can deal with the food restraint… I hope.”

“Then we’ll do it. As long as we’re together, it’ll be okay.” Adora assured with a smile.

Adora and Sasha applied for the military that same year, and started being part of the 104th Training Corps.

The first day started in a very curious way. Keith Shadis, the instructor of the Training Corps started shouting not very kind things to all cadets, in something known as a rite of passage, to prepare them mentally and reject who they were and who they’ve been. Adora found this kind of funny though.

“You!” Shadis shouted at a blond boy. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Armin Arlert, Sir! From Shiganshina, Sir!” After hearing those words, Adora froze.

_Armin is alive._

She felt her chest heavier, and didn’t even listen how Shadis emotionally destroyed a few more cadets as she discreetly searched for Eren or Mikasa with her eyes. If Armin had survived, then the other two could also had. She didn’t have much time to continue looking for them thought since she noticed Shadis was now in front of Sasha, who was right next to her. And Sasha was eating a potato.

_When and where the hell did she get it?_

Adora was used to Sasha’s appetite by then so the fact that she was constantly eating was usual for her, but this was the military. And she felt bad for Sasha.

“I am motherfucking talking to you!” Shadis shouted. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Sasha then quickly swallowed and saluted. “Sasha Braus, Sir! I’m from the southern Wall Rose village of Dauper, Sir!” Adora was surprised at how calmly Sasha reacted, as if she didn’t know she shouldn’t be eating that moment.

“Sasha Braus. What is that thing in your right hand?”

“A boiled potato, Sir! I saw it in the kitchen and I thought it looked delicious.”

“So you stole it? Why? Why would you choose to eat it _now_?”

“Potatoes are much more delicious when they’re hot. I thought I should act swiftly.”

“I still don’t get it. Why would you eat a potato?”

 _If I were you, I wouldn’t try to look for a logical explanation._ Adora thought. _That’s just how Sasha is._

“You seriously don’t know why humans eat potatoes?” Literally all cadets except Sasha could feel the rage in Shadis. Just then, Sasha reluctantly split the potato in two halves, and offered Shadis one of them. “I’ll give you this half.”

_Oh no._

“This… half?” He said between angry and confused as Sasha smiled foolishly.

Shadis then made Sasha run laps until she dropped, and didn’t allow her to have dinner that night. The latter was the cruellest one for Sasha. Adora felt sorry for her, but she couldn’t help her this time. She thought while Sasha was running she could go with Armin and asked him directly if Eren and Mikasa had survived. And what was her surprise when later that day she spotted Armin with the two of them.

_They’re alive. The three of them are alive._

She felt nervous. She couldn’t move. It was like she couldn’t believe it. What was the most appropriate thing to tell them? She thought they were dead. That she would never see them again. Adora started walking towards them almost unconsciously, but when she was in front of them, words didn’t come out of her mouth. Eren was the first one to notice she was there, and frowned. He didn’t recognize her.

“Uhm… hello?” He said hesitantly.

“I…” Adora felt her throat was hurting, and next thing she knew, she felt tears forming in her eyes. Armin noticed that almost instantly.

“Hey… d-don’t cry! What happened? Are you okay?” The blond boy gave an alarming look to his friends. Eren looked uncomfortable and confused, but Mikasa was frozen. She looked like if she had seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide, and tears were running through her cheeks.

“Mikasa? You too?” Eren said.

“Adora?” Was the only thing Mikasa managed to say. “Is that you?”

At Mikasa’s words, Armin and Eren looked at Adora, realization suddenly hitting them.

“Yes, it’s me. Nice to see you again.” Adora said, her voice breaking as she spoke.

“Adora!” Eren screamed as he jumped to hug her tightly, followed by Mikasa and Armin. Eren and Armin cried like babies while Mikasa quietly dried the tears in her eyes.

“It’s alright.” Adora said reassuringly. “I’m here now.”

Her three friends pulled back and Eren cupped her face in his hands. “I can’t believe it. It’s like you’re back from the dead. You don’t what it means to all three.”

“Believe me, I know. I thought you were dead too. I… I’ve missed you. All of you.” Adora whispered standing on her tip toes with her hands folded behind her back.

“Where have you been last year? It’s amazing you survived!” Eren asked excitedly. “What about your parents?”

“Eren.” Mikasa put a hand on his shoulder. “Little by little. Let’s go inside and talk more calmly, alright?”

Eren nodded, and then the four of them went inside one of the cabins. Adora then told them about her new home and family, omitting mentioning the last time she saw her parents or their weird actions the day the titans attacked Shiganshina since she didn’t want to talk about it, so she just told them they disappeared and were probably dead.

“So you’ve been living in Dauper with Sasha’s family and you even changed your last name? I certainly didn’t expect that.” Armin said. “And I’m sorry… about your parents.”

“It’s okay.” Adora said reassuringly. “Actually, could you guys not tell anyone about my parents? The, uh, real ones I mean. I just don’t want to remember that. I’m happy being Adora Braus, and I’d like to keep living like this.” She didn’t say it, but apart from that she didn’t like the idea of giving explanations about her previous life to anyone. She didn’t have to, and it just didn’t feel right, she couldn’t explain why.

Eren and Armin quickly nodded, and Mikasa did it too a few seconds after them. It seemed like she had something to say, but kept quiet.

“Now if you don’t mind… I’ll go check on Sasha.” Adora whispered.

Once they were outside, they saw Sasha was still running, and three other cadets were watching her, two boys and a girl. According to Armin, the short guy was Connie, the taller one was Marco and the girl was Mina. The blond boy was good with names.

“Look at that. Potato girl is still running laps. She’s been running for five hours straight.” Eren said.

“She was weirdly fine with being told to run until she dropped. Not being allowed to dinner really got her, though.” Marco laughed.

“If I’m not mistaken, Dauper is a mountain village of hunters.”

“I can confirm it.” Adora stated flatly. “I’m from there.”

“You too?” Mina said.

“Yeah. I’m Sasha’s sister.”

“Wow. It must be hard to watch her like that.” Connie said.

“Kind of. I’m more worried about her stomach though, after hours without food she’ll eat literally anything she considers edible.”

“Anything?!” Connie and Marco said in unison.

“Yup. But she isn’t into cannibalism, don’t worry.” Adora giggled.

“And you’ve been living with her and her appetite for years? Admirable.” Connie said.

“You learn to like her.” She shrugged.

They then saw the dropouts, people who didn’t have the strength to stay in the military. They were on the first day and people already leaving. Marco then asked Eren where he was from, and his answer ended up in him at dinner surrounded by people asking if he saw the Colossal Titan. Adora didn’t like to have that much attention, so she moved to another table where Mikasa was quietly eating.

She heard Eren’s speech about how titans weren’t that scary and he wanted to fight them joining the Survey Corps. After that, a boy called Jean confronted him and basically called him a coward, which caused Eren to nearly lose his cool. Fortunately, Jean apologized and they apparently ended in good terms, but Adora had the impression those two were going to have more than one fight. She then hid a slice of bread in one sleeve and ran outside after Eren, Mikasa joining them a few seconds later.

“What’s the big deal?” Eren asked after seeing Mikasa and Adora’s serious expressions.

“You’re getting yourself being led by your emotions again.”

“Not that shit again…” He sighed. “More importantly, don’t you two think your hair is too long? It might cause an accident during training.”

Adora gave it a thought for some seconds as Mikasa twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers.

“Hey, Mikasa. What if we get our hair cut before we go to sleep tonight?” Adora suggested. Eren was right. Her hair wasn’t as long as Mikasa’s, but it was still long.

“Yes. We will.” She answered flatly.

“Perfect. Now if you excuse me, I have to make sure my sister is alive.”

Adora then looked for Sasha and found her lying on the ground, probably unconscious. Walking towards her, she ran into a blond woman who was carrying bread and water.

“Did you save food for her too?” Adora asked, hope in her eyes.

“Uhm… well… I thought she would be hungry and thirsty after all that running…”

While she was talking, Sasha then jumped from the floor and caught the blond girl’s bread with her mouth, roaring in an animalistic way. The girl was shaking, and Adora put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t be scared, she’s always like that when she’s really hungry.”

“Bread!” Sasha screamed.

“That’s all I could get for you. But you’ve really got to drink some water first.”

“Are you god?” Sasha grabbed her shoulders.

“Sasha! Come on, you should rest now.”

“Adora!” Sasha hugged her, taking the bread from her hands. “You brought me food too! You’re really the best sister I could’ve ever hoped for!”

“What the heck are you guys doing?” Adora turned her head and saw a tall brunette girl with freckles standing behind them.

“Uhm… she’s been running the whole time and…” The blond girl tried to explain as Sasha devoured the bread.

“You’re trying to do a good deed, aren’t you?” Adora kept quiet, noticing the taller girl wasn’t talking to her.

Sasha had finished eating by then, and passed out with her head on Adora’s lap.

“For potato girl’s sake? What did you stan to gain?” But the blond girl kept silent. “Whatever. Let’s get her to bed.”

“Let me help.” Adora said, carrying one of Sasha’s arm on hers while the brunette did the same with Sasha’s left arm.

“So you’re doing a good deed too?” The blonde asked then.

“Yeah. If I do her a favour, she’ll be in my debt. I have great expectations for her stupidity.”

“Hey! I know she doesn’t have the brightest mind but, would you mind not insulting my sister in front of me?” Adora spitted.

“Oh? You’re her sister? I though you were just friends. Anyway, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Thanks.” Adora said flatly.

“I’m Christa, by the way.” The blonde said trying to calm things down a bit.

“Ymir.” The brunette said.

“Adora. Nice to meet you.”

Once in the women's barracks, Adora found Mikasa and they both got their hair cut. Mikasa's hair was now by her shoulders, and Adora's just a bit shorter.

Next day, the cadets were tested to see if they were capable of using the 3D Maneuver Gear Equipment. Mikasa had no problems to handle it and neither Armin, Sasha or Adora herself. The problem was Eren. He couldn’t stand straight in the air by any means. After dealing with some cadets laughing at him, that night he asked for help, but only Reiner and Bertholdt said yes. The day after, Eren tried again, and it turned out the belt he was using was broken, but he even managed to stand correctly a few seconds with it. He was accepted anyway. So they started the training from that day on.

The three years of training went by faster than any of them expected. Adora was incredibly skilled with the 3D Equipment and quickly learned to use it without problems. She was quite used to be in the forest because of the year she spent in Dauper, plus her physical strength was outstanding because of her parent’s training. Adora was the second best cadet of the 104th Training Corps just after Mikasa.

The thing Mikasa had and Adora lacked was initiative. She was good at everything except making decisions or being a leader. Adora always waited for others to tell her what she had to do, and did it unless she found it unfair or suspicious. But she was never the one who started a plan or to give the first order. Acting on her own was her weak point, and the only thing which made Mikasa end in better position than her. It wasn’t like that bothered Adora though, she thought Mikasa was brilliant and deserved it more than anyone.

Shadis was always watching them carefully during their training, writing down everything he could about them.

Reiner Braun. He possesses great mental and physical fortitude. His comrades trust him deeply.

Armin Arlert. What he lacks in physical strength, he makes up for with extraordinary academic aptitude.

Annie Leonhart. While her fighting skills are outstanding, she doesn’t work well as part of a team. A lone wolf.

Bertholdt Hoover. He is highly talented, but he lacks initiative.

Jean Kirschtein. His 3D control skills are top class, but his overtly bunt personality causes friction.

Sasha Braus. She’s talented at operating unconventionally, but that mentality makes her unfit for organized activities.

Connie Springer. He’s skilled at making sharp turns, but his mind is nowhere near sharp enough.

Mikasa Ackerman. Her performance is exemplary in every subject. She’s truly a genius of historically-unprecedented significance.

Eren Jaeger. While he lacks any outstanding talents, he improved his grades through outstanding diligence. In addition, he possesses an exceptional sense of purpose.

Adora Braus. Her combat skills are truly impressive and she’s incredibly good at making strategies, but she seems incapable of making decisions by herself.

Among those three years, apart from the training Adora also bonded with a lot of the cadets. Apart from of course never staying away from Sasha, she was closer than ever with Eren, Mikasa and Armin by then, specially with Eren. They both had a strong connection which couldn’t be explained. She also became friends with Christa and Ymir, who were practically a couple. She also noticed Sasha had become good friends with all of them as well, and also with Connie. Their minds kind of worked alike. Reiner and Bertholdt were also good guys, and Annie didn’t interact much with anyone. About Jean, well he wasn’t a bad guy, but he and Eren were constantly fighting over silly things. But overall Adora liked all her new friends.

It wasn’t like she had been desperately looking forward to meeting new people, they just happened to get on well with her. Adora was quiet and reserved most of the time, she was only talkative when she was with Sasha, Eren, Mikasa or Armin. But that didn’t mean she didn’t care about the rest. She wasn’t excessively shy, though she got easily flushed and mumbled a lot when it happened. She only raised her voice when someone insulted her loved ones or acted disrespectfully towards her. Adora didn’t like to give a lot of details about her life, so for everyone except her four closest people, she was Adora Braus, a girl who always had lived in Dauper and Sasha’s sister. Sasha was also aware Adora didn’t want people to know about her past, so she never mentioned it. Besides, neither of her superiors questioned her about her origins, and none of the papers about her had any information about her life before living in Dauper, like if it hadn’t existed. The only way to know about her past was probably go directly to Dauper and ask its habitants about it, including Sasha’s parents. Though why would they bother to suspect about a cadet.

The day of their graduation came, and Adora couldn’t help but feel both nervous and proud of herself. She was 21 by then.

“Offer your hearts!”

“Yes, Sir!”

“For you cadets graduating today, three paths now open before you: You can be stationed at the Walls and defend the cities as members of the Garrison. You can put your lives in the line to fight the titans in their own territory as member of the Survey Corps. And your can serve the king by controlling the crowds and protecting the order as member of the Military Police. Of course, only the ten people with top scores we announced earlier are allowed into the Military Police.”

The top ten of the 104th Training Corps cadets were: Mikasa, Adora, Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Eren, Jean, Marco, Sasha and Christa.

That same night while everyone was celebrating the graduation, Eren ended up giving another speech about why humanity could still win against titans. Apparently he had been told the opposite when he said he wanted to join the Survey Corps. Eren had clear he wanted it since the first day, and no one could change his mind. He got angry and went outside, followed by Mikasa and Armin. Adora gave Sasha the food she didn’t want to eat and went with them a few minutes after. Eren was frustrated, but he still wanted to join the Survey Corps. Mikasa will go where he went, and Armin wanted to be useful so he’d also join them.

“Have you finally made your decision, Adora?” Eren then asked her. “You’re the second best of the class, you can join the Military Police if you want.”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” She sat beside Eren, looking at the dark sky. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, but I still haven’t decided what I want to do.”

“That indecision is what didn’t make you top of the class.” Eren mocked playfully. “You’re always like that. Don’t you really have an objective? A dream?”

“I…” She started in a low voice. “I just don’t want to be alone.” Adora had been asked multiple times what she did want to do, but she always answered she’d think about it and changed the topic of the conversation. But the truth was hard to assume for her. All her life, she hadn’t looked for anything in special or had any objective in particular. She just wanted to be with the ones she loved, and try to keep them safe. That was probably the only decision she had made on her own, without the opinion of anyone else.

Eren then slowly put an arm around her shoulders to keep her close, and gave her a reassuring smile. “Adora, think by yourself. You won’t always have someone to tell you what you have to do. This is the type of decision only you can make, you’re the only one who can choose your path in life. Give it a last thought tonight, alright?”

Adora rubbed her cheek with his, smiling weakly. “Thank you.”

Adora wasn’t especially fond of physical contact, she only allowed it to people she was especially close to. By then, the only people who could touch her without making her flinch were Sasha, Eren, Mikasa and Armin. The four of them knew that about her, and that was why anytime they wanted to make physical contact they always started to do it slowly to let her know their intentions and avoid making her uncomfortable. A simple gesture like returning a hug or rubbing her cheeks with other person’s ones were gestures she only made when she felt extremely comfortable with that person.

“Now I think about it, the Survey Corps are going on an expedition tomorrow! I’m going with Mikasa and Armin to see them leaving, wanna come with us?”

Adora turned her head to look at the other two, silently asking if they didn’t mind.

“You know I’m always fine with you coming anywhere with us. You don’t even have to ask.” Mikasa said simply.

“I’m of the same opinion as her.” Armin nodded.

Adora’s smile grew wider, touched by their words. “Then sure, I’ll be there.”

As they agreed, the next day Adora told Sasha she had to go, and Sasha just nodded and said they’ll see each other later. Once they arrived, Adora saw a lot of people were there to see the Survey Corps.

“Look! The Survey Corps are here!” A man shouted as he saw them coming. “Commander Erwin! Kick their titan asses for me.”

Adora looked at the Commander. He was a very tall man with blond hair and blue eyes, and he was also kind of intimidating. Behind him rode an even taller man with light brown hair, who seemed to be smelling the air.

“Look! There’s Captain Levi!”

Adora immediately looked that direction, and saw him. Captain Levi was a man who seemed to be young, likely in his late 20s. His raven hair was partially shaved, and his eyes were of a piercing grey. But what caught Adora’s attention was that he was really short, that was noticeable even if he was riding a horse. He was still taller than Adora though.

“They say he alone counts for a full unit.” A man excitedly said.

Levi didn’t seem to look pleased by compliments at all. The person who was by his side patted his back and said him something Adora didn’t hear. They had reddish hair in a high ponytail, though it was quite messy. They also had glasses on their forehead. The Captain only seemed more annoyed after their comment, and just sighed and looked away.

That was when his eyes met Adora’s. It was brief, but he looked at her and Adora felt his eyes didn’t leave her until she wasn’t in his sight.

 _Wow. Humanity’s strongest soldier more like humanity’s shortest soldier._ She thought. She didn’t doubt Levi was strong, but also couldn’t avoid finding funny how short he was. Adora noticed then Eren was talking to Hannes, a soldier they knew who used to be a drunkard, but now was Captain of the Garrison.

They then separated and Adora was returning to the HQ speaking with Armin when a strong noise came from the Wall, but when they looked there, they only saw steam and soldiers in the air. She swallowed. Eren and Sasha were there. A few seconds later, they heard a man running through the streets screaming things like _the Colossal Titan is back_ and _we’re all going to die_.

And she started to feel dizzy. _Not again, not now. Why._ Armin’s voice saying her name was the last thing she heard before passing out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so uhhh hello, chapter two is here! before you start reading i wanted to make a few things clear  
> \- adora is 21, she has clear blue eyes and short dark hair (a bit lighter than mikasa’s) and her height is 1,55m  
> \- in case you didn’t notice in the last chapter, i use they/them pronouns for hanji and i’ll try not to use many gendered terms with them (they’re woman-aligned though)  
> \- the main story goes on and the changes in it start know, but a lot more things are coming  
> \- next chapter will be 90% interactions between adora and levi so stay tunned i guess?  
> \- if i'm forgetting something relevant i'll mention it in next chapter’s notes
> 
> last thing, hope you enjoy it!

“Adora! Come on, wake up!” Eren’s voice startled her as she opened her eyes.

“Eren…? What happened?”

“The Colossal Titan is back! Titans are now entering in Trost!”

“What?!” Adora screamed, now completely brightened up. “So it wasn’t a nightmare after all…”

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t.” Armin sighed next to them.

“Guys, come on. They’re calling us. Everything okay, Adora?” Mikasa asked.

Adora nodded and looked at their surroundings, trying to order her thoughts. They were at the HQ, and everyone was highly alarmed because of the current situation.

“Split up into teams, just as in traning! Under the Garrison’s command, you’ll form supply and information groups as you mop up any titans you encounter. The Garrison’s Intercept Squad will form from the vanguard. The cadets will function as the middle guard under our command, and the Garrison’s elite will form the rear guard! According to information we’ve received, the initial response team has been wiped out, they let the titans break through their defences and get into the town! In other words, as things stand the Armoured Titan could show up at any time and destroy the inner wall!”

All cadets started mumbling and shaking. Which wasn’t weird given what was happening out there.

“Attention! The vanguard is intercepting the titans at this moment. This defence mission has only one goal: to protect Wall Rose until the civilians are evacuated! Also, I’m sure you’re all aware by now, fleeing from an enemy carries the death penalty! Keep that in mind as you offer up your lives! Dismissed!”

“Yessir!”

Adora was going to her assigned position with Mikasa when they heard Eren and Jean arguing – which wasn’t unusual, but that wasn’t exactly the right moment.

“Don’t forget! Never forget the three years we poured our blood, sweat and tears into!” Eren screamed, grabbing Jean by the collar of his shirt. “We’ve nearly died so many times over the past three years. Some people actually did. And some ran away or were driven out. But we survived. Isn’t that right? And I’m sure we can do the same now. You’re going to survive this day, and go to the interior tomorrow, right?!”

Eren’s motivational speeches always seemed to motivate people, and that wasn’t an exception.

“Eren, Adora.” Mikasa grabbed their attention once Jean was gone. “If things go bad, come to me.”

“Huh? Aren’t we in different squads?”

“Things don’t follow the plan on a chaotic battlefield. I’ll protect you.”

“But Mikasa, we–” Adora started.

“Cadets Ackerman and Braus.” A man called them. “You’ve been permitted to join the rear guard. Come with me.”

“A-at my level of ability, I’ll only get in your way!”

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion. The evacuation is behind schedule. We need to place as many as our elite soldiers as possible with the citizenry.”

“B-but–”

“Hey!” Eren gave Mikasa a headbutt. “Cut the crap, Mikasa! Pull yourself together! Mankind is in real danger of extinction here! Quit selfishly following your own priorities!”

“I’m sorry. I lost my cool.” She answered. “I just have one request. Please… don’t die.”

Eren didn’t answer and moved away from them. Adora, who had been unable to interrupt them until now, put a hand on Mikasa’s shoulder and tried to calm her down. “He’ll be fine. His stubbornness won’t let him die until he had killed every living titan.”

“You’re right.” Mikasa showed her a small smile. “At least you’ll be with me. Let’s go.”

When Mikasa and Adora got to where the rear guard were, they found an abnormal titan running towards an exit, which was currently blocked by someone’s cart, impeding the evacuation to be carried out properly. A few Garrison’s soldiers were after the titan, but it was running too fast for them.

“Adora, let’s do it.” Mikasa said as they got closer to the titan.

Adora and Mikasa were the most skilled when it came to combat in their class, and it wasn’t the first time they practiced killing titans together with the titan puppets while they were training. When they were right next to it, Adora quickly cut its legs making it fall instantly, and Mikasa sliced its nape just after that, now standing on the dead titan’s head.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Mikasa asked to the businessman whose cart was blocking the exit.

“Good timing!” He answered. “You! Make them help me out! I’ll reward you handsomely!”

 _Is he stupid?_ Adora thought while she kept an eye on their surroundings from a rooftop, making sure no more titans could come near them.

“My comrades are dying as we speak. The non-combatants haven’t evacuated yet, so they’re fighting the titans and dying.” Mikasa said, anger in her voice.

“That’s only natural! It’s your duty to offer up your hearts to protect us civilians and our wealth! Don’t get all high and mighty just because you parasites have finally emerged from 100 years of uselessness.”

Now on the floor, Mikasa walked towards him. If Adora didn’t knew her she’d say she was going to murder him.

“If you think it’s only natural that people die for others, then I’m sure you’ll understand. Sometimes, sacrificing one precious life can save many others.”

“Just you try it!” The man said as she got closer. “I’ve known your boss for a long time. You’re just a grunt, I can tell him to end you!”

“But how is a corpse going to tell him anything?” Mikasa spitted, now in front of him, her blade razing his neck.

“Pull the cart out.” He ordered to his subordinates, shaking.

The cart was pulled out then, and the evacuation could continue its course successfully. Adora saw a little girl and her mother thanking Mikasa, and she somehow felt warmth in her chest. Those were some of the things which made worth being a soldier. Their superior told them they could move to the vanguard then, and that was what they did.

_I really hope Eren and Armin are okay._

On their way they found Marco, Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt, Connie, Jean and most importantly for Adora, Sasha. They spotted Armin on a rooftop, with his back against a window. His expression was something between fear and despair.

“Armin!” Adora knelt near him. “Are you hurt? Is everything okay?”

“Where’s Eren?” Mikasa asked after checking Armin wasn’t injured. “Armin?”

He then looked at them straight in the eyes, tears running through his cheeks. That could only mean one thing.

“No…” Adora mumbled.

“Our unit…” Armin started. “The 34th cadet unit… Thomas Wagner, Nic Tinus, Mylius Zeramuski, Mina Carolina, Eren Jaeger… all of them have fulfilled their duty, and died heroic deaths in battle! Adora, Mikasa… I’m sorry. Eren died in my stead… I couldn’t do anything! I’m so sorry!”

Adora started shaking. Her childhood friend, who she thought was dead once, was now actually dead. She felt her chest heavy. Memories of her with Eren when they were kids came to her mind. It really hurt. But it also felt strange, like she couldn’t assimilate it properly.

Mikasa knelt next to them and put a hand on Armin’s, and the other on Adora’s. “Guys. Take deep breath. This isn’t the time to be emotional. Stand up.”

Led by her hand, Adora and Armin sat up, but Adora couldn’t stand still and supported her weight on Armin’s shoulder almost unconsciously. Sasha then run towards them and helped her retake a normal breathing rhythm.

Adora didn’t know how Mikasa had the strength to keep her cool in a moment like that, or even give a speech about how she could kill all titans she wanted because she was strong and wanted to stay alive, like she did. She wasn’t as encouraging as Eren when it came to motivational speeches since she even insulted the ones she was talking to, but she clearly made a point. They couldn’t give up, they had to fight. Adora dried her tears trying to bear the pain as she could, and turned it into fury. She alone killed titan after titan, not knowing really well where exactly she was going. And then she saw her.

Mikasa was there, on the floor, looking at nowhere. And a titan was just a few meters away from her. She was going to be eaten. And she’d have to deal with the death of more of her friends.

_No._

_Not now._

_Not again._

Adora then felt something. Like a flow of energy running through her body. She felt powerful. She could recall that wasn’t the first time she felt like that, but couldn’t remember when exactly was the last time it happened. “NOOO!” She shouted, her scream filling the air.

The titan which was going to grab Mikasa stopped on its feet, unable to move for some reason. And just seconds after, as if it had heard her scream, a 15 meter titan emerged from the corner of the street and punched the one who was going to eat Mikasa. And then it roared. She kept looking at that titan from the rooftop she was on, ignoring everything around her. She didn’t even hear Armin picking Mikasa up from the ground and both of them landing on the same rooftop she was along with Connie, or their following conversation.

“Adora, we have to move!” Armin said.

“Eren.” Adora said in a whisper.

“What?”

“Eren. That’s Eren.”

“Adora, this isn’t the moment for loosing your mind.” Mikasa took Adora by her shoulders to make her face her. “Let’s eliminate the brainless titans so that abnormal can look for more of them, as Armin suggested.”

Adora didn’t even nod. She just followed them and went near the abnormal. But she wasn’t acting according to Armin’s plan. She was acting on her own, like if her body moved by itself. So when the others were killing the normal titans, Adora placed herself on the abnormal’s shoulder, her hand touching its face. She wasn’t really conscious of her actions. Her body and mind were acting on their own.

“Adora!” Armin screamed. “What are you doing?” But she didn’t hear him.

The abnormal looked at her for a moment, and stood still. Like if he was waiting for something.

“There.” Adora then said, pointing at the titans surrounding the HQ. Obediently, it turned in that direction and started killing titan after titan.

“What the hell is happening there?” Connie asked alarmingly.

“That titan… is… obeying Adora?”

“What?!”

“But is there any other explanation? It didn’t attack her and the moment Adora pointed at the HQ it immediately went there! We should take advantage of this and move.” Armin said.

“I don’t want to leave her here.” Mikasa then spoke. “But Armin’s right. Everything is so confusing right now and we have to think fast.” She briefly looked at Adora, who was still on the titan’s shoulder. “We have to trust her. She’ll be fine.”

Adora’s mind was still absent. She didn’t see Mikasa, Armin and Connie going back to the HQ and neither Armin screaming _please don’t die_ as they moved away. Adora then kept giving orders to the titan, which did exactly what it was told and killed almost 20 titans, among them all the ones surrounding the HQ. In case any titan fought Eren back, they attacked him anywhere except the shoulder Adora was, like if they were scared of her.

But after a while, the titan lost its energy and started falling. When it hit the floor, Adora did too, fortunately landing on its head so she didn’t end up injured. She then recovered consciousness, and needed a few seconds to clear her mind. She didn’t remember anything after screaming when she saw Mikasa was going to be eaten, but she was sure of one thing.

That titan was Eren.

She then realized it was on the floor, burning itself out, and quickly took one of her blades to take Eren out of the titan’s body. She was questioning herself why she knew exactly what she had to do and at the same time had no idea what was going on.

“Adora!” She turned around and saw Mikasa and Armin on a rooftop above her. “What happened before? What are you doing?”

“Help me!” She answered. “We have to take Eren out of here!”

They hesitated at first, but when they saw Adora taking Eren’s body out if the titan, Mikasa lasted one second in going down with them, and hugged them both tightly. Adora then heard her crying. But her consciousness didn’t last much since once she confirmed Eren was alive, she felt her mind blurry and passed out for the second time that day.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Armin. He was with an arm around Eren’s shoulders and the other around hers, while Mikasa was shielding the three of them. They were surrounded by Garrison soldiers, and could hear them all murmuring.

“He said he’ll kill us all.”

“Yeah. I heard it all right. He wants to devour anyone.”

_Everything because he’s a titan? But why did I know that?_

“Cadets Jaeger, Braus, Ackerman and Arlert! Your current actions amount to treason! Your answer to my next question will determine if you live or die! Don’t try to dodge the issue or move a muscle! If you do, we will immediately fire cannon upon you without hesitation! Let me ask you straight: What are you?! Are you human?! Or titan ally?” A Captain of the Garrison asked alarmingly.

_What? Why the heck is he asking that? I mean, yes Eren is a titan, though he’s clearly on humanity’s side… but me? What did I do? What happened?_

“I don’t understand the question!” Eren said

“Playing dumb?! You monsters! Just you try that again! I’ll smash you to bits! In an instant! You won’t have time to show your true colours!”

 _Our true colours?_ Adora widened her eyes. _What does that even mean?_

“There are dozens of witnesses! They saw you emerging from a titan’s body!” He pointed at Eren when he said that, and right after at Adora. “And they saw you controlling him!”

 _Controlling him?! That happened?_ She then tried to remember again the previous events. The last thing she remembered was Mikasa about to be eaten, and then weird goosebumps through her body… and that was all. But that sensation felt oddly familiar. When she tried to make her memory recall something more, her head started to spin.

“I’ll ask you once more!” A voice startled her. “What are you?!”

“Human!” Eren answered.

“Human!” Adora screamed after him

“I see.” The man said as he started to raise his hand.

Adora alarmingly looked at her surroundings and started to shake. She was horribly confused and was going to be killed for something she didn’t know she did.

 _You will know how to control this power when the times comes._ A voice echoed in her mind. _But you’ll have to be brave and remember everything we told you_. The goosebumps again. And she knew what she had to do.

“Eren!” Adora screamed. “Bite your hand!”

“What?!”

“Do you want to protect us?”

“Of course I do!” He answered in distress.

“Then do as I tell you!”

Eren quickly nodded and bit his hand with determination. Next thing they remembered was hearing the cannons, but none of them hit them. When they looked above them, they saw a huge skeleton with few muscles on it. That was what protected them. It was like a malformed titan, and clearly emerged from Eren’s body. The four of them looked at it astonishingly, and their gazes switched to Adora a few seconds later.

“Adora, how…?” Mikasa started.

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

Just then, Eren, who emerged again from the body, moved towards them. “You guys alright?”

“What’s this?” Armin questioned.

“No idea. But this thing’s gonna evaporate, just like a titan’s corpse. We need to move! I don’t know if they’re gauging the situation or just dazed from shock, but the Garrison isn’t doing anything right now. However, they’ll probably attack us again before long.”

“And I don’t think we can negotiate with them after doing _this_.” Adora said, gesturing to the titan body. “We have to hurry up, the dust is already disappearing.”

“I’m gonna get out of here.” Eren stated.

Armin looked at him in confusion. “Where? And how?”

“To begin with, anywhere but here. I think I can get over the wall if I transform myself into a titan again.”

“Are you sure you can do that?”

“Not exactly… but I think I can. It’s like explaining how I move my arm, it just works. Also, I remember something while I was transforming… I remembered my father. He told me to go to the basement, that I would find answers there. I have to get there.” His head then turned to Adora. “I know you’re as confused as me, but I need you near me right now. We’re together in this, I just feel it. You don’t?”

Adora nodded. Since she saw Eren again in the Training Corps, they both felt connected somehow, and what just happened made it clearer. There was a bond between them, it couldn’t exactly be explained, but it was there. Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed Eren’s nose was bleeding. “Eren, your nose.”

“You’re really pale and breathing heavily. There’s gotta be something wrong with your body.” Armin noticed.

“I don’t care how messed up I am right bow. As long as you don’t try to protect us, they’ll let you two live. We’re their targets, so we should do things on our own from here.” Eren knew she was speaking for both him and Adora.

“I’ll come with you.” Mikasa said.

“No you won’t.”

“If I’m not able to keep up with you feel free to leave me behind. But at the same time, I’m free to ignore your orders as well.”

“I’m telling you to cut that out! I’m neither your little brother nor your kid!”

“Stop!” Adora had reached the limit of her strain. “There’s no point in discussing this right now, they’re going to kill us if we don’t do something so stop acting like you’re five!” The three of them flinched. Adora rarely raised her voice like that. She had to think fast in that situation. It was just normal to be afraid of them, but neither her nor Eren planned to use their power against humanity, it was the total opposite in fact. _That’s the way._ “I’ve thought of something. Armin, I’ll leave up to you to decide.”

“Huh?”

“I’m aware of how impractical this idea is, but I’m afraid we have no other option. Right now they only see Eren as the enemy… and me as well. But Armin, if you can convince the Garrison that we’re not a threat to mankind, then I’ll trust you and your judgement. If you say you can’t do it, then we’ll do as Eren said earlier and just try to scape. You have fifteen seconds to decide. Can you do it, or not? I’ll trust your judgement either way. I do trust you, Armin.”

“Adora… why would you leave that decision to me?”

“Don’t misunderstand me, but I know you and… the worse is the situation, the better you are at making the right decisions. I want to rely on that ability of yours.”

“When did I ever…?”

“She’s right.” Eren added. “Like five years ago. If you hadn’t gone to Hannes for help, both Mikasa and I would’ve been eaten alive by the titans.” Armin then seemed to think about it. “We’re running out of time.”

Armin then got up confidently. “I’ll make sure they understand. Do everything you can to show them that you bear no hostility.” He run towards the Garrison’s soldiers as he took off his gear, and then raised his hands.

“You’ve finally shown your true colours!” The Captain shouted.

“They’re not an enemy of mankind! We’re willing to disclose every piece of information we’ve gained!”

“I’m not going to listen to you begging for your lives! It’s too late, we’ve already seen what you really are! You say they’re not enemies, but you’ve yet to show me any proof of that! If you can’t do that, we’ll just eliminate them and the threat poses!”

“There’s no need for proof! It doesn’t matter whether we see them as allies or enemies!”

“What?!”

“You said there were loads of eyewitnesses! Then they should’ve also seen them fighting against the titans! As well as the titans ganging up on them! Which means the titans see them they same way they see us: as prey! We can rack our brains as much as we like, but that fact isn’t going to change!”

It seemed like the soldiers’ brains started to click, and they put down the weapons. But the Captain wasn’t still convinced. “Prepare to attack! Don’t fall for their tricks! Their actions will always be beyond our comprehension. Don’t you see? They still look like humans, speak our language and deceive all of us! We can’t let them have their way any longer!”

 _He’s so scared he isn’t even using his brain properly._ Adora thought.

A shaking Armin turned his head to look at them, and the three of them looked back with trust in their gaze, and nodded. He turned around and saluted. “I’m a soldier, sworn to give everything I have for the sake of mankind’s revival! Nothing would make me happier than dying for that cause! If we combine their power with our remaining forces, the recapture of this town could be within our grasp! For mankind’s glory, I’ll use what little time I have left to vouch for their tactical worth to us!”

Even if the soldiers were asking the Captain to think about it, he didn’t even give it a thought. He raised his hand again. And just when he was going to give the order, a hand stopped him.

“Stop it. You may be grand in stature, but I see you’re still as feeble-minded as ever.” Adora felt a huge weight was off her chest when she saw Commander Pixis had arrived. “Can’t you see this boy’s magnificent salute? I only just got here, but I was informed of the situation on the way. You go take the command of the reinforcements. I got the feeling I should listen to what they have to say.”

More calmly, the four of them moved with Pixis to Trost Inner Wall. Adora didn’t know much about him though. He was the Commander of the Garrison, and was famous as a born eccentric. “So going to that basement will help you figure everything out, you say?” Pixis asked.

“Yes. Will you believe me?”

“You don’t seem too convinced of it yourself, so I guess the most I can say is that I’ll keep it in mind. However, I believe I’m capable of getting you to the bottom of anything. As such, I guarantee your safety.” They felt much more relaxed then. “Cadet Arlert, was it?”

“Yes, Sir!”

“You said earlier that by using their powers we might me able to recapture this town. Do you really believe that? Or did you just said it to say your own skins?”

“That was… it was both. Back then I was trying to say that Eren could turn into titan and Adora could control him in case he couldn’t, and carry that massive rock to the destroyed gate, closing the breach. It was just something I came up with so that people could believe that their power had the potential to get us out of this mess. Of course, I wanted to be safe with all my heart, but…”

“ _With all your heart_ , huh? Those are most trustworthy words.” Pixis then turned to Eren and Adora, and knelt in front of them. “How about you two? Do you think you can do it?”

“That’s…” Eren started. “I’m not really sure. Right now, I know the same as you all do. So regardless of whether I can o cannot do it, it would be irresponsible to answer you now.”

“I’m with Eren, Sir.” Adora said almost in a whisper. “We can’t assure we’ll do it because that’d be lying.”

“Yeah, you’re right. My apologies.” Pixis laughed. “I asked the wrong question. Will you give it a shot, or not?”

Eren and Adora looked at each other. Determination ran through their veins. They knew they were together in this.

“We will do it, even if we aren’t sure we can. Right, Adora?”

“Yes. We don’t know if he can block the whole or I’ll be able to control him if he goes mad again, but we’ll give it a shot!”

“Perfect. Follow me, you two.”

While Adora walked beside Eren, she thought about everything which happened. That basement Eren had mentioned apparently had answers to his powers. But what about hers? She was completely lost and the fact that her head hurt when she tried to remember anything related to her abilities didn’t help. Maybe the basement had also answers for her as well. Grisha and her father were really close after all.

“Jaeger, Braus. This is what we’re going to do. We’re going to say you’re part of a secret project to transform humans into titans and try to control them so no one will freak out more than necessary. Then we’ll proceed to Arlert’s plan, and see if everything goes as it should.” Armin’s plan was to attract the titans far from the boulder, and have the elite protecting Eren and Adora in case titans came back and try to attack them. Eren would transform into a titan and lift the boulder, and Adora would stay up the wall and only go with him in case he lost control.

“Ready?” Pixis asked. They both nodded, and position themselves looking at Trost with their bodies stiffened. “Attention! I shall know explain the plan to retake Trost. For this mission, our objective is to seal the whole were the gate was destroyed. Let me introduce you to the ones who will seal the hole for us. From the Trainee Corps, Eren Jaeger and Adora Braus.” They both stepped forward and saluted. “Eren and Adora are the result of a top-secret project to turn humans into titans and control them. He can create a titan’s body, and she can control it. He will become a titan, pick up the giant boulder by the shattered gate, carry it over and seal the hole. Your job will be to protect them from titans when they move the boulder.”

As expected, some soldiers started to panic and go back, even if that meant they had to face death penalty. Pixis then said he’ll pardon anyone who decided to leave, making them remember what happened when they tried to retake Wall Maria. There was no point in leaving. If they didn’t fight, titans would take all the Walls little by little. And that was a fact.

“Since the titans appeared, humanity has never won against them. Their continuous advance has meant humanity’s continuous retreat and loss of territory. But when this mission succeeds, humanity will have retaken its territory from them for the very first time. This will be humanity’s first victory against titans! Compared to all that humanity has lost, it may seem insignificant. But for humanity, that step will be a great step in our attack on the titans!”

The operation began. Eren and Adora run to the nearest area of the wall where the boulder was with the elite troops – which Mikasa was allowed to join, and when they saw green smoke Eren instantly jumped. Using his gear, he quickly moved to the boulder and then transformed into a titan. Adora quietly observed everything from where she was. She was under the charge of Riko Brzenska, one of the elite Squad Leaders of the Garrison. Riko and her squad had to protect her in case she had to move through the city. But just about ten seconds after the transformation, she saw yellow smoke coming from where Eren was. That was her signal. That meant Eren has lost control, and she had to approached him.

“Yellow smoke.” Riko looked at Adora. “There’s a problem with Jaeger. Let’s go.”

They jumped and started to move towards Eren, Adora always surrounded by Riko and her squad. Once they got there, Mikasa approached them.

“Adora, Eren is right there! He had lost control and doesn’t listen to any of us!”

Indeed, Eren was on the floor, his back supported on a house and his fists regenerating.

“Hurry up and do something.” Riko said. “We’ll kill any titan which dares to come near here.”

Adora nodded and jumped onto Eren’s shoulder. “Eren? Can you hear me?” She started. But he didn’t even blink. She carefully touched his face in order to obtain any reaction, but it didn’t work. Adora noticed then he wasn’t even fully conscious. He was breathing, but his mind wasn’t there. “Wake up, Eren! People are dying as we speak! Weren’t you going to block the hole! Eren!” She knew screaming at him was useless, but she didn’t know what to do anyway. How did she control Eren last time? She didn’t know. It just happened. And now she was under pressure, which was even worse. “Eren… please. Come back.” She sobbed. “Remember what we promised when we were kids.”

 _What?_ She asked herself. She remembered being really close to Eren, but definitely not promising anything. But her mouth kept speaking. “We said we were going to see the world someday, right? With Mikasa and Armin! We said we were going to be together when that happened! I said the world outside the Walls existed and was wonderful, didn’t I? I wasn’t lying, I wanted to see it with you three and I still do!” Tears started running through her cheeks. “SO WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

And there they were again. The goosebumps, the powerful feeling.

Slowly, Eren turned his head towards her and she then knew he had recovered his conscience. Through his big emerald eyes, Eren was looking at her, perfectly aware of his actions now.

“The boulder.” Adora pointed at it. “Block the hole with it.”

He then stood, and after checking Adora was still on his shoulder, he went to pick the boulder. People around them quickly noticed Eren was walking towards the hole carrying the boulder with Adora on his shoulder, and defended them at all costs according to the plan. Eren was moving forward slowly since the boulder was huge, but didn’t give up. Besides, he felt Adora was giving him more strength somehow. When they were near the hole, Adora gave him a last encouraging look.

And Eren blocked the hole.

When Adora saw the hole thing was already over, she felt her body weakening, and fell from Eren’s shoulder. She landed on one of his titan’s hands, which was strategically collocated under her since Eren noticed she had fallen. That was probably the last movement Eren managed to do since his titan body started to emit steam. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes were closing, but she didn’t pass out. Next thing she knew, Mikasa was helping her to get up and Armin had already taken Eren out of his titan body.

There were two titan corposes in front of them, and someone of the Survey Corps was on one of them. Adora recognize him. He was Captain Levi. “Hey, brats.” He said emotionlessly. “What’s going on here?” Adora felt relieved to see the Survey Corps had come back, but her body couldn’t take it anymore. Eren wasn’t the only one whose body was exhausted. Controlling Eren consumed an insane amount of energy for Adora, she couldn’t explain why. Seconds after, in Mikasa’s arms, she lost consciousness.

❖

Adora found herself surrounded by trees, her head in her father’s lap. She wasn’t sure of what happened, but her head hurt so bad it forced her to stay lying for a few minutes. Trying to recall what happened, she remembered seeing the Colossal and Armoured titans breaking Wall Maria, but not much more.

“What…?”

“Adora.” Her dad then spoke once he saw she was awake. He had his face partially covered with blood, something which made Adora widen her eyes instantly. Her own forehead was covered with a bandage, but she was so bewildered she didn’t notice.

“Dad? What happened?”

“I don’t have time to explain, so please listen carefully to what I have to say.”

“But–”

“Please.” He said, visibly alarmed. “Listen to me.” Adora nodded, starting to get nervous.

“I’m afraid I can’t stay with you anymore. I know you’ll be scared right now since you’ll be on your own, but you have to be strong.” He saw fear in his daughter’s eyes, but went on. “You’re a strong girl, we both know it. Remember my words, even if you don’t understand their meaning right now. They’ll come again and try to destroy everything we fought for. Take the time you need to heal, and then go inside the walls and find Eren, Mikasa and Armin. They’ll give you strength for what you’ll go through, I’m sure of that. I’m sure you’ll also meet new people, and I’ll rely on you to choose the ones you can trust. Your new family will also love you, I know it. But no matter what you go through, just please… live. Learn to live with this, because trust me, you can. But most importantly, live. Keep living.”

“Dad, I don’t… know what you’re talking about…” Was the only thing she managed to say.

“I know. But I still want you to remember them. Promise me you will.”

“I… I do.” She nodded hesitantly. “But why do you have to leave? I don’t want to be alone.” She whined as tears started to form in her eyes.

“Because otherwise I won’t be able to protect you.” Then they heard someone screaming. Adora recognised the scream. It was him.

“Dad…” Adora trembled. “What’s going on…”

“Shh. It’s time to sleep again.”

“What?”

“Sweet dreams my dear daughter. Don’t forget I love you. We love you.” He said, putting a hand on her chest.

Before she could complain, she felt her eyes heavy, and fell asleep on her dad’s chest.

❖

When she opened her eyes again, her head was spinning. She felt dizzy, and kept looking at the ceiling for some seconds, trying to clear her mind. When she finally sat up in the bed, she brought a hand to her head, still feeling kind of sick.

“Look, Erwin.” She heard then a deep male voice. “The other brat is awake.”

“Adora!” Eren’s voice came from the adjacent cell.

“Eren…?” She then visualized two people standing in front of her cell, and recognized Commander Erwin and Captain Levi. The latter was, indeed, very short. If just one of them already intimidated Adora, the two of them didn’t make it easier for her.

“Adora Braus, right?” Erwin asked. He didn’t look angry or scared by any means.

“Y-yes.” She mumbled.

“Good. We’ve already said this to Eren, but you both are now in underground cells under the custody of the Military Police. Any more questions?”

“Uhm… this may sound stupid, but…what happened?” Adora asked in a whisper.

“Well it does sound stupid.” Levi said harshly. “You killed more than twenty titans by controlling your brat friend in his titan form as well as made him block Trost’s hole, and you’re asking what happened?”

“Levi.” Erwin cut him off.

“I did… what…?” Adora buried her face in her hands, more confused than ever. The memories of the events in Trost came to her mind then. She remembered being next to Eren in his titan form and screaming at him, and next thing she knew the hole was blocked. Though she was still assimilating the fact that she could _control_ titans. _What the heck._

“Listen, you two. I guess you need time to rest and think about everything, but right now we need to ask what you want to do.”

“What we want to do?” Eren said, almost as confused as Adora.

“To get to Eren’s house, we must retake Shiganshina and Wall Maria. The simplest and easiest way to seal the shattered gate would be to use both Eren’s titan power and Adora’s ability to control titans. The Colossal and Armoured titans are the same, in principle, as Eren. Your decision is they key. The key that can save humanity from despair.”

“Answer up, you pieces of crap.” Levi spitted when he saw neither of them spoke. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to join the Survey Corps.” Adora heard Eren, who was breathing heavily. “And just slaughter the titans!”

“Oh. Not bad.” The Captain said.

Both Levi’s and Erwin’s eyes turned to Adora then. She was still with her face in her hands, mentally assimilating everything which was going on. Her memories were blurred. But what could she do now? She was lost and didn’t even know what was going to happen to her, or Eren. She was scared, and had to think of an answer now.

Eren’s words came to her mind then. _You won’t always have someone to tell you what you have to do. This is the type of decision only you can make, you’re the only one who can choose your path in life._ And he was right. She actually had an objective now. She wanted answers. She wanted to know why she could do what she did. Why her memory didn’t let her remember what she wanted. She wanted to know what she was, quite literally.

“Are you deaf?” She heard Levi. “Answer. Now.”

Adora swallowed and made her face visible, looking at Levi straight in his eyes. “I do want to join the Survey Corps too, and find who I am and why I have these abilities. If reaching Eren’s basement will provide me answers, then that’s my objective.”

Levi looked at her, his expression unchangeable. “Erwin. I’ll take responsibility for them. Convey that to the brass. It isn’t that I trust them. If they betray us or use their power against us, I’ll kill them both on the spot. The brass shouldn’t complain, because only I can do it.” Even if he was talking to both, Levi’s eyes never left Adora’s. “I accept your request. You can join the Survey Corps.”

Erwin then nodded, clearly satisfied, and sat up. “Give us a little more time. We’ll persuade them somehow.”

Some days had passed since that conversation. Adora and Eren weren’t allowed to interact between them. She missed having company, but she also had some time to think about everything. It still felt surreal, she could control titans. At least titans like Eren. But why? Every time she tried to remember anything about her past which could relate to that power, her head hurt so badly. So she gave up, and opted to rest – that was the only thing she could do anyway.

The next day, she heard someone walking down the stairs, and sat up immediately. Just then, a person with reddish hair smashed their head against the bars.

“Ahhhhh!” Adora screamed, hitting the wall as she flinched.

“You’re Adora!” They said. She remembered them. They were in the Survey Corps, but she didn’t now their name or rank. “Are you okay?” Without giving her time to answer, they moved to Eren’s cell. “And you’re Eren! Anything new? Sorry to keep you two waiting, it seems you’re finally getting out. But you’ll have to wear these.” They said handing them two pairs of handcuffs.

Once they were out the cells, walking through a hall, they introduced themselves. “I’m Hanji Zoe, a Survey Corps Squad Leader.” Just then, a light brown haired man who was with Hanji stepped closer Adora and started to smell her.

“Excuse me?” Adora flinched again, aching for her personal space.

“He’s another Squad Leader, Mike Zacharias. He has the habit of smelling people he’s just met, and then smirking. I don’t think it has any real significance though… but after all, he’s good enough they gave him a squad.”

Adora actually liked Hanji, at least the first impression she had of them. But she noticed they hadn’t told her or Eren where they were going, and she felt they just wanted to keep them calmed until they reached their destiny. And she had a bad feeling about it.

“Oh, sorry! Too much chit-chat! We’re already here. Don’t worry, it’s actually better not to get any explanation in advance.” They said as two MPs pushed them into a hall.

_I knew this was coming._

“Wait!” Eren screamed.

“I know it’s selfish. But we have no choice but to blindly trust you.” And with that, they closed the door.

Adora then looked at her surroundings, and instantly guessed they were in a military court, and they were probably going to judge Eren and her, but not with what purpose. Perhaps if they… let them live? Adora gulped at the thought.

“Kneel.” An MP ordered her once they were in the centre of the hall. He them put an iron bar over her handcuffs to make sure she couldn’t escape, or well move in general, and did the same with Eren. Adora then noticed the three military forces and its current leaders were there, and so were Armin and Mikasa. Her eyes lit up when she saw them and also did Eren’s. They were probably there as witnesses.

Jus then, an old man entered the hall, his hair and beard were grey and so were his eyes.

“Well, let us begin.” He said calmly, looking at Eren first. “Eren Jaeger and Adora Braus, right? You’re soldiers, sworn to sacrifice your lives for the public good. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Sir.” They answered in unison.

“This is an exceptional situation. This tribunal will be held under military, not civilian, law. I, Darius Zackly, will have final decision. Your fates will be decided here. Do you have any objections?”

“No, Sir.” Eren answered.

“Neither I, Sir.” Adora said.

“I appreciate your cooperation. I will be direct. As anticipated, concealing your existence has proved impossible. We must make it public in some form, or a threat to humanity other than titans may arise. What I’ll decide today is which force will have your custody: The Military Police or the Survey Corps. First, I’ll ask the Military Police for their proposal.”

“Yes. I, Commander of the Military Police, Nile Dawk, will present my proposal. After a thorough investigation of their bodies, we believe they should be eliminated immediately.”

At the thought of someone examining her body without her consent, Adora felt _extremely_ uncomfortable. She already didn’t like Nile.

“It’s certainly true that their powers overcame our previous peril. However, now their existence threatens to spark a civil war. So we ask them to die for humanity’s sake, leaving behind all the information they can.”

 _We save their lives and this is what we get? This is stupid._ Adora though, getting angrier.

“There’s no need for that!” A priest said. No one payed attention to the church of the Walls five years ago, but they gained power since then. “They’re invasive pests! They must be killed at once!”

“Pastor Nick, order please.” A soldier shut him.

“We’ll hear the Survey Corps’ proposal next.” Zackly stated.

“Yes, Sir. I, 13th Commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith, will present my proposal. We’d welcome Adora and Eren as official members of our forces, and use their power to regain Wall Maria. That’s all.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes, Sir. With their power, we can retake Wall Maria. We believe it’s clear what our priorities should be.”

“I see. And where do you plan to begin this mission? Pixis, the Trost wall has been completely sealed, correct?”

“Yes, it can never be opened again.”

“We’d like to set out from Karanes in the east.” Erwin went on. “From then, we’ll proceed to Shiganshina. We’ll determine the route as we go.”

“Wait a minute!” A random civilian interrupted him. “Shouldn’t we seal all the wall gates once and for all? The Colossal Titan can only destroy the gates. If we can strengthen them, we needn’t endure further attacks!”

“Shut up, merchant dog!” Another man shouted. “With their power to transform into titans and control them we can return to Wall Maria! We can no longer indulge your delusions of grandeur!”

“You talk a lot, pig.” That was Levi’s voice. “Where is your proof that the titans will wait while we seal the gates? The _we_ you speak of are only those you wish to protect, your _friends_ who help line your pockets. The people who starve because there isn’t enough land to sow don’t even figure into your thoughts.”

“We just thought that we could survive by sealing the wall gate–”

“Silence!” Pastor Nick spoke again. “Impious traitor! Mere humans altering Wall Rose, walls that were a gift from God! Can you truly see those walls, God’s work far beyond human capabilities, and not understand?”

Zackly hit the table a few times in order to keep them quiet. “Silence. You may discuss your personal philosophies and opinions elsewhere. Braus, Jaeger, I wish to confirm something. Can you continue to serve as soldiers, using your powers to benefit humanity?”

“Yes, I can!” Eren instantly answered.

“Indeed, I can.” Adora said next.

“But Jaeger, the report on Trost’s defence says this: Immediately after turning into a titan, he swung his fist at Mikasa Ackerman.” Eren’s face was shocked. Adora didn’t know that detail either. “Is Mikasa Ackerman here?”

“Yes, that’s me.” A slightly angry Mikasa answered.

“Is it true that Jaeger, as a titan, attacked you?”

“Yes, it’s true.” And the murmurs in the crowd started again. “But on two previous occasions, Eren saved my life in his titan form. The first time, mere seconds before a titan would have had me in its grasp he stood between us, protecting me. The second time, he saved Armin, Adora and me from the cannons of the Garrison. I’d like these facts to be considered as well.”

“I object.” Nile said. “I believe these comments are greatly coloured by her personal feelings. At an early age, Mikasa Ackerman lost her parents, and was taken in by the Jaeger household. Our investigation has also revealed a surprising fact about the underlying events. At age nine, Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman and an older kid whose identity we don’t know, killed three robbers who tried to kidnap her.”

Adora’s eyes widened. That older kid whose identity they didn’t know, was her. But why didn’t they know that? Didn’t her name appear in any of their reports? Regardless of the answer, only Eren, Mikasa and Adora herself knew that detail, and neither of them mentioned it. It’d only make everything worse.

“Even if it was self-defence, I must question their fundamental humanity. Is it right to entrust humanity’s fate, resources, and lives to him?”

Adora could hear how people said that Eren was a monster, and how she probably was the one who guided titans inside the walls. She was burning with anger. She had to say something. She hated like to have any attention on her, but she couldn’t stay quiet anymore.

“Sir, may I say something?”

“I’m listening.”

“I disagree with Commander Hawk’s statement. Yes, Mikasa was taken in by the Jaeger household, but is that even relevant? If the person Eren had protected had been anyone else, would Commander Hawk had objected? I have to remark Eren was out of his mind in that moment, meaning he didn’t care about the bond he has with Mikasa, he just saw an ally and defended them. Besides, he didn’t attack anyone when he was under my control. I won’t deny he could be dangerous when he’s on his own.” _I’m sorry Eren._ “But the two of us together killed about twenty titans and sealed Trost’s hole. Just wanted to make that clear.”

Zackly seemed to be thinking about what Adora said, but the civilians still weren’t convinced.

“What if he defended her by instinct because she’s a monster like him? Titans don’t devour other titans!”

“True! Do we know she’s human?” A man pointed at Mikasa.

“That’s right! Just to be safe, we should dissect her!”

“Wait!” Eren interrupted. “I may be a monster, but she has nothing to do with it!”

“We can’t trust that!”

“If you’re covering for her it means she’s one of you!”

“NO!” Eren’s scream silenced everyone. “I mean… you’re wrong. You’re coming up with the theories that fit whatever it suits you to think. Besides, all of you people… you’ve never ever seen a titan! What are you so afraid of? What’s the point if those with the means and power do not fight? If you’re so afraid to fight for survival, then help us!” Adora could tell Eren was hesitating to continue speaking, and she didn’t want to keep quiet either.

“Eren and I had done nothing but fight for mankind! What’s the point of eliminating us? That’d be like giving a step back for everyone! Humanity has won against titans for the first time thanks to us, and this is what we get for doing it?”

“You… cowards! Just shut up and bet everything you have on us!” Eren said loudly, ending their rant.

After a few seconds of silence, Nile spoke. “Weapons ready.”

_Does this man even think?_

Before she could protest, Eren’s face was strongly kicked, and she had two seconds to see a tooth flying before Levi’s boot was on her face as well. The Captain kept kicking both of them anywhere his boots reached for a few seconds until they were both bleeding.

“This is a personal opinion. But I believe pain to be the best way to train someone. What you need is to be trained like dogs, not people. It’s easier to kick you when you’re kneeling too.”

He kicked them again. And again. And again. The pain started to be unbearable.

“Wait, Levi…” Nile’s face was pale.

“What is it?”

“That’s dangerous… if he gets angry and transforms into a titan, she’s here to control him. They can attack us.”

Adora looked at Levi with fury. Another kick came, followed by Levi grabbing her hair since its roots. “What are you saying? Weren’t you going to dissect them? When he turned into a titan last time, she made him kill other twenty titans before collapsing. If they’re enemies, being together makes them formidable foes. Still no match for me, of course. But what will you do? Anyone persecuting them should also consider that fact. Do you really think you can kill them?”

“Sir, I have a proposal.” Erwin raised his hand.

“What is it?”

“It’s true the details of their powers remain uncertain, making it dangerous. Thus, I propose to have Captain Levi take responsibility for them, and embark on an expedition outside the walls.”

“With both in tow?”

“Yes, Sir. Based on the expedition’s results, I’d like you to judge whether they can be useful and whether they’re a bon or bane to humanity.”

“Control Braus and Jaeger… can you do it, Levi?”

“I’m certain I can kill them. The only problem is I doubt I can do any less.”

“Then my decision is made.” That was Zackly’s last comment before the trial ended.

“That was really terrible.” Hanji said, healing their wounds. “Does it still hurt?”

“A little.” Eren answered while Adora just nodded.

“How does it hurt?”

“I’m sorry.” Erwin interrupted. “But thanks to that, we now have your custody. The pain you both endured allowed me to play my cards at the right moment.” He then squatted, offering his hands to both of them. “You have my respect. Eren, Adora, I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes, Sir!” Eren said excitedly while Adora just smiled and mumbled a low thank you.

Captain Levi then sat on the couch they both were, crossing his legs and stretching an arm over it. They both flinched and Eren pulled Adora closer protectively almost by instinct. “Hey, brats.”

“Yes, Sir?” Eren awkwardly responded.

“Are you mad at me?”

“N-no… I understood why it was necessary.” He answered.

Levi’s eyes then switched to Adora, who was in Eren’s arms rubbing one of her wounded cheeks with one hand. “I’ve asked both of you.” He didn’t sound angry at all, in fact it felt like he didn’t want Adora to be mad at him, but his tone was really hard to read. His eyes didn’t leave her.

“No.” She finally answered, her voice low. “I’m not.”

“Good.”

The Survey Corps provided clean clothes and a uniform to Eren and Adora, and they didn’t last even an hour to get on their way to their next destiny. They both were in the same carriage as Levi and Erwin since both were under Levi’s custody. Adora avoided his gaze at all costs since she still found him a bit intimidating, adding some hours ago he gave her a monster beating. Eren discreetly caressed her hand a few times to calm her down since he could tell she wasn’t in the best mood, a gesture Levi didn’t miss.

Once they were in the Survey Corps’ HQ, Erwin told them they weren’t going to stay there for much time so assigning them a room or showing the entire place wouldn’t be necessary. While Levi went to look for his squad, Eren and Adora were given horses since they were going to leave soon.

“Hey, you lied when you said you weren’t mad at Captain Levi, didn’t you?” Eren asked in a whisper when they were in the stables.

“I’m not mad. But I can’t help to act distant with someone who beats the shit out of me, even if it was for a good reason.”

“You mean even more distant than usual. We’ll have to get used to it anyway, remember he’s in charge of us.”

Adora sighed. “Just mount your horse.”

“I didn’t remember you were that rude. Did he hurt you that much?”

“Can we talk about literally anything else?”

“Am I that boring to talk about?” Levi appeared behind them with his own horse.

_Shit._

“I didn’t mean that, Sir. I’m sorry.” Adora said in a low voice, unable to look at him in the eyes.

“Whatever. It’s time to go, brats.”

When Levi left the stable, Eren put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. “I’m sure he’s not that bad. Besides, think we’re in this together, aren’t we?”

Adora’s expression softened. He was right, she wasn’t alone. “We are.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys chapter three is finally here  
> my only comment is that levi is so freaking hard to write for me and i don't know if i'm doing it well enough??? but apart from that there's nothing to say, hope you enjoy it!  
> sorry for the possible grammar errors and typos

The plan of the Survey Corps was using their old HQ as a hideout while Eren and Adora were under their custody. They were both escorted by the Special Operations Squad – also known as the Levi Squad. Apart from Levi, the four people who formed it were: Petra Ral, Auruo Bossard, Erd Jin and Gunther Schultz. They were all experts in killing titans, and wouldn’t hesitate to end Adora or Eren’s life if they had to.

The very first thing they did when they arrived at the old HQ was cleaning it, Levi was very strict about that. While Eren cleaned the basement, Adora was cleaning one of the rooms in the first floor, when someone startled her from behind.

“Hey, what’s that look on your face? You look disappointed.”

Adora jumped. It was Petra. “Do I?”

“Kind of. This is the first time I hear your voice since I know you. You’re somehow shy, aren’t you?”

“You could say that.”

“I was told you were quiet, but I certainly didn’t expect you to be that reserved. That’s totally fine though!” Petra showed a warm smile.

Adora could see Petra was really trying to make conversation and be friendly, but still she didn’t know how to exactly answer that. She also noticed Petra didn’t try to close the distance between them to let her know she didn’t have a problem with her being reserved and distant. Furthermore, Adora found her cute. Nearly everything about Petra was of Adora’s liking. “You’re so kind.” She managed to say.

“Really?” The ginger girl laughed. “I just want you to feel comfortable around us. If you have any doubt about anything and are too afraid to ask Captain Levi, I’m always here.”

“Afraid to ask me what?” Levi stood in the doorway.

“Nothing, Sir!” Adora and Petra replied in unison and went back to their cleaning tasks. Levi revised all the rooms and made Eren clean again some of them, while on the other hand he described Adora’s cleaning abilities as _not as bad as I thought they’d be_.

That night, the Levi Squad were having tea with Eren and Adora.

“We’ll probably be ordered to stand by a for few more days, but I heard we’re supposed to be going on a large-scale expedition outside the Walls. And we’ll be taking new graduates with us as well.” Erd said, making Eren and Adora’s bodies stiffen.

“Even considering they handled the last titan attack pretty well…” Gunther said.

“I heard those kids’ pants required multiple washing to remove the shitstains.” Auruo commented.

“Is this all true, Captain?” Petra asked.

“I’m not involved in making our plans.” Levi answered. “It’s Erwin. He’s likely considering far more variables that might occur to us.”

“It’s true we’re in an unprecedent situation. On the one hand, we lost Wall Maria’s reconquest route we had previously established through a lot of sacrifices, but on the other hand we hand an unexpected ray of hope. Well, two rays.” Erd said, everyone’s heads turning to Adora and Eren. Adora felt all the gazes on them and lowered her head. She didn’t like to have that much attention, but what could she do. “I still have trouble believing it. Eren can turn into a titan and Adora can control him, and possibly others. What does that even mean?”

“Well, our memories from that day are quite hazy. It felt like a selfless, dreaming state.” Eren started, answering for both. “Adora knew I can be transformed by hurting myself, like this.” He softly bit his hand.

“But how did you know it?” Erd questioned. He didn’t sound angry, just curious.

“I… I’m not sure. I didn’t know I had that knowledge until that day, it just came to my mind the right moment. Like Eren said, it was like being in a dreaming state.”

“You guys know all of this too.” Levi said then when he saw Adora finished speaking. “We can’t get any more out of them than what’s written in the reports. They won’t stay put though.” He paused and drank his tea. “Their meddling could kill even kill you two.”

“They? Who?” Eren asked.

Just then, they heard someone crashing against the door and making Adora jump on her chair. Petra quickly stood up and opened the door. Hanji was there.

“Good evening, gentlemen of the Levi Squad! Have you made yourselves home in the castle?”

“You’re early.” Levi said, uninterested.

“How could I stay put now?”

“Squad Leader Hanji?” Adora tilted her head.

“Sorry for the wait, you two. I’m charged with experimenting on the two titans we caught alive in the city. I want you to help me out in tomorrow’s experiments. I came to ask permission for that.”

“An experiment? What are we supposed to d–”

“What else but that totally awesome things you do!” Hanji interrupted Eren.

“Well… we can’t give you permission for that ourselves.” Adora said, her head pointing at Levi.

“Levi! What are their plans for tomorrow?”

“Cleaning the garden and stables.”

“Then it’s decided! I’ll be counting on you tomorrow.”

“Yes, m’am.” Eren said, nodding with Adora. “But what exactly are those experiments about?” Hanji’s eyes widened, their face showing an overly excited smile.

“Stop that. Don’t ask them.” Auruo whispered.

“Ah… I knew it…” Hanji started. “You had this expression like you wanted to know.”

When they said that, all the Levi squad stood up and left the room in a matter of seconds. Adora had some interests in the experiments though, but she was tired. It had been a long day, and she just wanted to rest. So before Hanji started talking, she stood up and smiled weakly.

“I’m a bit tired so I’m afraid I’m leaving too. Good night Eren and squad lea–”

“Oh please call me Hanji.” They interrupted her. “Sleep well, dear.”

The pet name surprised her, but it wasn’t difficult to guess Hanji acted like that with practically everyone. On her way to her assigned room, she spotted Levi and Petra in the kitchen. She kept looking just for a few seconds, enough for Levi to turn his head and notice she was there, Petra doing the same just a second later. She flinched and moved to her room, but she heard Petra’s voice almost immediately.

“Wait! Come here.” Adora gave a deep sigh and went back on her steps, going into the kitchen and swallowing as she felt Levi’s gaze on her. “I was wondering if you wanted another cup of tea. Maybe it could help you to sleep better.”

Sighing, she nodded. Petra was being so nice with her, and a little help to sleep wouldn’t hurt. “Fine, I’d want some.” She then sat as far as possible from Levi as Petra smiled while pouring her a cup of tea. It didn’t take much for her to notice Adora was avoiding eye contact with Levi and was a bit tense when he was around. She knew about how Levi brutally beat Adora and Eren, and even if it was necessary, even Petra would’ve taken a bit not to feel nervous around him. So she tried to make conversation.

“Would you mind if I ask you a few things, Adora?” She looked at Levi like asking if he minded, and he just responded with a shrug of his shoulders. But he didn’t leave the kitchen.

“It’s okay. Go ahead.” Adora said.

“Are you really 21? I mean, you look much younger! And you’re so short!”

“Yes, I am. People often tell me I have a childish face… and tease me about my height.”

“I think being that short makes you cute.”

A little blush appeared on her cheeks. She always reacted like that when she received compliments. “Thank you.” She mumbled.

Levi then raised an eyebrow. It was the first time Adora’s face had another expression apart from indifference or fury. For Levi, she wasn’t necessarily cold, but reserved with people she didn’t know. She was way more talkative when she was alone with Eren. She didn’t talk about her personal life either, but that wasn’t something he found strange since he was the same in that aspect, each one’s personal life wasn’t anyone’s business.

“Were you planning to join the Survey Corps once you graduated?”

“Honestly, I didn’t know at first. I’ve never been especially fond of staying within the walls so … I’d probably ended up joining them anyway.” The last part wasn’t fully true since her initial plan was to join the same regiment as Sasha no matter which one was it. That changed when she met again Eren, Armin and Mikasa. She just wanted to be with the ones she loved. She was like Mikasa in that aspect.

“That’s great!” Adora could easily tell Petra was avoiding asking her about what happened in Trost, she may have guessed she was quite tired of people asking her about it. And the ginger woman wasn’t wrong. “Another thing I was curious about… what’s your relationship with Eren?”

“With Eren?”

“You two are so close, I was wondering if you were together?”

Adora choked while drinking her tea. “Together?” She muttered between coughs. “We’re not. Eren is a really close friend of mine, almost like a brother I’d say.”

“I see.” Petra smiled. “Good to know, some of us got the wrong idea.”

“Really?” Adora said before yawning.

“Yeah. But don’t worry, it was just curiosity.” She giggled. “Go to sleep, I can tell you’re tired.”

Adora nodded sleepily as she got up. “Indeed, I am. Good night and thanks for the tea.”

When Adora left the kitchen, Petra looked at Levi. “See? I told you she’d talk. She’s just shy.”

“You probably made her uncomfortable by asking that.”

“I was curious! You were wondering it too, Captain.”

“Not really. He’s 15, it was highly improbable they were dating.” They both knew what Levi was referring to. The age gap per se wasn’t a problem, it was that Eren was too young.

“And you were right as usual. I hope she opens up more, I like her.”

“Good luck with it.”

Next morning, Eren knocked on Adora’s door until she woke up. Everyone in the Survey Corps was alarmed that morning. Both of the captured titans were killed by someone, but there were no suspects. Adora and Eren went to the graveyard, their hoods on. They saw the titan corpses, which were still emitting steam.

“What on Earth…?” Eren started.

“Why would someone do this?” Adora murmured standing next to him.

“Let’s go.” Levi told them. “This is the jurisdiction of the Military Police.”

Before any of them could move, Eren felt Commander Erwin’s voice near his ear. “What do you see there?” He said in a whisper, making sure only Eren and Adora could hear him. “Who do you think is the enemy?”

“Excuse me?” Adora answered in confusion.

“Sorry, don’t mind me.”

Adora’s eyes were fixed on Hanji losing their mind about the dead titans. They were really affected, and that made Adora somehow feel bad for them.

Once back in the old HQ, Eren and Adora went out on patrol with the Levi Squad, and discussed a few things about their next expedition, which was planned to be carried out in six months. Apparently, it wasn’t going to be a very long one. The Levi Squad thought there was an ulterior motive for doing it and knew Commander Erwin had his reason not to have told the rest. Adora’s mind was more worried about Sasha, Mikasa, Armin and the rest of her friends. The induction ceremony was coming, and she couldn’t help but wonder what they were going to do. She knew Mikasa and Armin were joining the Survey Corps, but what about Sasha? Of course Adora would respect her sister’s decision, but it’d still hurt not being near her.

After cleaning the stables that noon, Eren saw the new recruits of the Survey Corps and recognized the 104th cadets. After asking Auruo for permission – though he didn’t really care, they run towards them. Mikasa was the first one to react, taking Eren’s hand.

“Did they do anything bad to any of you? Like investigating every square inch of you? Or psychological torture?”

“Calm down, we’re okay.” Adora reassured.

“That midget went too far. Someday, I’ll make him pay for it.”

“You don’t mean Captain Levi, do y–”

“Adora!” Sasha’s scream startled them as they saw Sasha practically threw herself to Adora, making them end on the floor. “Are you hurt? Did they give you enough food? I’ve missed you!”

“I’m fine, Sasha.” A goofy smile appeared on Adora’s face. “And I’ve missed you too. But I didn’t think you’d join the Survey Corps.”

“Neither I at first… haha.”

“I see you’re not the only one who have changed your decision. I’m glad to see you all here.” She greeted the rest of her friends. The only ones who weren’t there were Annie and Marco. She was told later Annie had joined the Military Police, and Marco was dead. The news shocked her a bit, but she maintained her composure.

Since they were all reunited, they talked about their current situation. The expedition, the sudden new powers Eren and Adora had, their lack of control over them. But overall, even if they weren’t sure about how things would turn out, they all trusted Adora and Eren. And she felt happy about it.

Since Sawney and Bean – the captured titans were now dead, Hanji much to their regret quickly moved to experimenting with Eren, Adora always ordered to be near him just in case. They were always supervised by Hanji and the Levi Squad, but Eren had problems to even transform himself and Adora couldn’t help him. They both felt the same, they knew their powers worked when they were in stressful or dangerous situations, otherwise they didn’t. So if Eren wasn’t turned into a titan, Adora couldn’t do much.

The days Hanji was too busy and couldn’t do the experiments, Eren and Adora were allowed to join the new cadets in their training. Erwin, Levi, Hanji and Mike observed them and took note of what they were good at and what they had to improve. Their reports were quite similar and they all agreed Mikasa and Adora were impressively skilled when it came to combat, both with the 3DMG and hand-to-hand.

As days passed by, they decided to keep Mikasa training so the rest of the cadets could have someone to look up to. At first Adora’s routine wasn’t going to change either, but it did when the Survey Corps’ high ranks – mainly Hanji – couldn’t handle all their paperwork by themselves. Hanji suggested Erwin to make Adora help them since she didn’t need extra training, and he accepted after informing Levi of the issue.

So by Hanji’s request, Adora was dismissed of her training two hours earlier than the rest of cadets, and went to help her superiors with paperwork. She spent the first day with Hanji. They explained her how was dealing with paperwork and the people she would help.

“Apart from me, you’ll also help Commander Erwin, Squad Leader Mike and the shorty.”

Adora’s body stiffened. “With _shorty_ you mean Captain Levi?”

“Correct. I know he can come off as rude at first, but he doesn’t dislike you and once you get used to him and his temper everything gets better.”

“… I guess so.” The idea of helping Levi wasn’t that horrible for her, but still she didn’t want to spend more time than necessary with him.

Adora discovered Hanji was a disaster with paperwork. Their office was really messy and they didn’t care about deadlines, so no wonder why Commander Erwin told her they needed help as soon as possible. When the time came, she went to Levi’s office and took a deep breath before knocking.

“State your name and business.”

“I’m Adora, Sir. I came to help with paperwork.”

“Come in.”

Levi briefly told her what she had to do, never saying more than necessary. Adora, as usual, sat as far as possible from him, and didn’t open her mouth. Levi acknowledged she was helpful and worked really fast, but also noticed her discomfort when she was near him. He didn’t blame her thought, he was wary himself.

Two weeks after, both Adora and Levi got used to each other’s presence. The former stopped finding Levi that intimidating and started to think she maybe had misjudged him. She also liked that Levi never even tried to overstep boundaries, though she knew he was like that with everyone. As for Levi, he appreciated her silence and noticed she started to be less tense around him. But she never talked to him unless she had to. It wasn’t like he cared at first, but the fact that she tried to act nicer with everyone except him ended up making him feel just a bit uneasy. And she couldn’t keep acting like that, they were going to work together sooner or later outside the walls since she was under the custody of the Levi Squad. Under _his_ custody.

“Hey, brat.” He asked one day.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Are you really that mad at me?”

Adora got nervous at the question. She knew he was referring to the beating. “I know you had to do it.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I already said I’m not mad. Besides, you heard my conversation with Eren when we were in the HQ.”

“Precisely. Eren said you were more distant than usual with me. I don’t really care if you don’t like me or whatever, but you’ll be with my squad in the expedition and you’re under my custody, you can’t avoid me forever. Get used to it.”

Adora lowered her face. He had a point, she couldn’t just ignore him, and after all he was her superior. “Fine. I’m sorry, Sir.”

Levi could tell she felt kind of embarrassed. He said he didn’t care if she didn’t like him, but that wasn’t fully true. She wasn’t annoying, and Levi could tell approaching to people wasn’t her strong point, and right that moment he knew she felt bad and didn’t really know what to say. Maybe he could do an effort too.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You like tea, don’t you?”

Adora looked at him. “Yes.”

“Go to the kitchen and bring some.”

She blinked a few times and sat up. “What kind of tea, Sir?”

“I don’t mind. Just make it taste good.” He answered, his eyes again on the paper. His tone was softer than usual though.

That was the first time she maintained a conversation – even if it was a short one with Levi about not work-related stuff. On her way to the kitchen she ran into Hanji.

“Hey Adora! I was looking for you.” They said energetically. “Weren’t you with Levi?”

“He told me to bring tea. What do you want?”

Gesturing her to keep walking, Hanji spoke. “We want to try a different experiment with Eren soon, and I need to know your opinion.”

“Tell me.”

“You don’t know if you can control Eren, right?” Adora nodded. “Well, what do you think about making him transform into a well? That way we could all have him under control.”

“I think it’s a good idea, that way he won’t be able to move properly if he transforms.”

“I knew you’d agree!” Hanji petted her head, making Adora’s body tense up almost instantly. Seeing they were near the kitchen, she moved away from Hanji and started to eye the different tea bags there, wondering what kind of tea Levi liked. After thinking a few moments about, she chose black tea. They said it helped with concentration, and that was what he needed that moment knowing the amount of paperwork he had.

Back in Levi’s office, Adora looked at him from the corner of her eye to see his reaction as he drank the tea.

“Black tea.” He said plainly.

“Uh-huh.”

“Why did you choose it?”

“It helps with concentration.” She guessed Levi already knew it, and if he did, he didn’t say it.

“… Good choice.”

After his statement, she felt relieved. Somehow. “Thank you.”

The next day, they began the experiment Hanji mentioned, leaving Eren in a well. Adora, Levi and Hanji were a bit far from it on their horses when Hanji fired the green flare. But Eren didn’t transform.

“Didn’t he see the signal?” Hanji asked.

“No. His ability just isn’t that reliable.”

“We should check on him.” Adora was worried. “Remember he has to hurt himself if he wants to transform…”

She didn’t need to say more.

“Hey, Eren! We’re calling it quits for now!” Levi shouted.

“Did something happen?”

When they looked down, Eren’s mouth and hands were bloody, and his expression showed despair. “Hanji… I can’t become a titan.” Levi and Hanji’s heads then turned to Adora, waiting to see if she had something to say.

“I can’t make him transform.” She started. “At least as far as I know. Maybe he needs something more to become a titan? A motivation? An objective?”

“We’ll discuss it later.” Hanji shook their head. “Now let’s get him out of here.”

Sitting on a table outside with Eren and the Levi Squad, Adora started thinking about the other times Eren had become a titan, but nothing new came to her head.

“So your self-inflicted bite wounds on your hands aren’t healing either?” Levi asked Eren.

“No.”

“If you can’t transform into a titan, our main goal of sealing Wall Maria is off the table. This is an order… Make it happen.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Levi moved a bit far from the table, and Petra went near him as usual. Adora put a hand on Eren’s shoulder reassuringly. “I know this isn’t easy, but don’t put more pressure on yourself, okay?”

Eren nodded, his wounded hands fidgeting. It hurt so much that when he tried to pick a spoon, it fell from his hand.

“Are you okay?” Erd asked.

“Yes…” When he touched it to pick it up, Adora saw sparks and her whole body shivered. And she knew what was happening.

“Careful!” She shouted to the Levi Squad.

Eren’s transformation released a small but strong explosion sending nearly everyone flying. Adora stood still and covered her face with one of her arms. When the steam cleared, they saw only Eren’s arm had been transformed, but not completely.

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Levi spoke before she had time to flinch. “You don’t have anything to do with this, do you?”

“I don’t!”

“Then do what you have to do. It’s an order.”

The fact that Levi believed in her words that easily left her speechless for some seconds, but she nodded anyway. “Yes, Sir. Calm everyone down, Eren didn’t do it on purpose.”

“How do you know it?”

“I just do. Trust me.” Levi’s expression didn’t change. “Please.”

Instead of answering, Levi moved to face his squad, who were already with their blades ready to attack any moment.

“Calm down. All of you.”

“Eren… what’s the meaning of this?”

“Sir?”

“Why now? Without permission? Answer me!”

“Erd, wait.” Levi interrupted.

“Answer him, Eren! What are you thinking?”

“No, that can wait…” Gunther continued. “Prove you’re not our enemy, humanity’s enemy!”

“I dare you to make a single move with that arm! I’ll cut off your head!”

“Auruo! I said to calm down.”

“Captain, get away from them!” This time was Petra.

“No, you’re the ones who should get back.” Levi said calmly.

“Why?”

“My intuition.”

But they didn’t stop.

“What’s wrong, Eren? Say something!”

“Adora! Did you turn him into this?”

“What?!” She stepped back.

“Prove it to me!”

“Answer us! You think we can’t kill you?”

Eren was visibly overwhelmed, and Adora felt even more tense when they didn’t even let them explain what happened.

“I’m serious!”

“Answer, both of you!”

“Are you even listening?”

_Enough._

“EVERYONE SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!” She shouted, trying to sound as serious as possible. Eren looked at her, thankful that she had stick up for him. Levi turned his head to her and nodded, silently telling her to go with Eren.

She climbed up the deformed arm and noticed Eren’s real arm was stuck in it.

“Eren!” Hanji suddenly appeared. “Can I touch that arm? It’s okay, right Adora? Just let me touch it!”

“Wait a second!” Adora answered. “There’s no skin so it’s still…” But Hanji had already touch it, and they were screaming of ecstasy on the ground. “… very hot.” Deciding to ignore Hanji, Adora grabbed Eren’s stuck wrist and tried to pull.

“What are you doing?” An alarmed Eren asked.

“Just pull if you want to take your arm out.” Eren did as he was told, and they freed his arm with such force they landed on the floor.

“How do you feel?” Levi asked them.

“Not… Not so good…” Eren sighed.

“Bewildered.” Adora looked at the sky, trying to assimilate what just happened.

“Until I saw that they were actually ready to kill me, I didn’t understand… that they doubted me so much.” A dejected Eren said once inside the castle. Adora sat next to him, and Levi’s back was facing the wall near them.

“Of course they do. That’s why I chose them. People say you only truly become a full member of the Survey Corps after making it back alive from a mission. But whenever we fight the titans, you never have enough information. There are too many situations you just can’t anticipate, no matter what. They’ve had to cultivate the ability to take a quick action and to make ruthless decisions by assuming the worst scenario. But that doesn’t mean they’ve become heartless. It’s not like they felt nothing when they turned their swords on you.”

“Captain Levi.” Moblit interrupted. “Squad Leader Hanji wants to see you.”

Hanji showed them the spoon Eren was holding when his arm transformed, and deducted maybe Eren needed an objective to transform since that was how his powers worked before. He had objectives: Kill the titans, block the cannons, lift the boulder… or pick up a spoon.

“My theory is that your self-inflicted injury probably isn’t the sole trigger. You may need some goal, as well. It’s like you said, Adora. He needs an objective. Reaching this conclusion was easier because you mentioned it earlier.” All the eyes then turned to her.

“You also warned the others when you saw me picking up the spoon. Like if you knew it was going to happen.”

All that unwanted attention made her a bit uncomfortable. “I just got alarmed when I saw the sparks because I’ve already witnessed him transforming. That’s all.”

“In other words… Eren didn’t deliberately change without permission? And Adora didn’t have anything to do with it?” Gunther asked.

They both nodded. The Levi Squad then sighed and bit their hands. Eren didn’t understand at first what was happening, but Adora did. That was their way of apologizing.

“This isn’t easy. I’m amazed you can bite through, Eren.” Erd said.

“We made the wrong decision. This is a small price to pay. Not that it makes a difference.” Gunther smiled.

“Keeping you two under control is our job. And there’s nothing wrong with that. So don’t get cocky!” Auruo said, still a bit nervous.

“I’m sorry, guys.” Petra followed softly. “We’ve been so jumpy. You must be disappointed in our stupidity. However, even so… we’re going to rely on you. And we want you to rely on us. So… have faith in us.” Her words made Adora smile.

When they finished talking, everyone went back to their dorms, Hanji grabbed Adora’s arm. “I’d like to discuss something with you before you go to bed.” Adora freed herself from Hanji’s grip almost instantly and nodded, waiting for everyone to leave the room. The only one who didn’t was Levi, who looked at Hanji and raised an eyebrow. “Oh you can stay if you want shorty.” He seemed to think a bit about it, and then stayed.

“What do you want?” Adora asked.

“Just wanted to ask you a few things. First, are you sure you don’t know anything about your powers? It isn’t that I don’t trust you.” They smiled reassuringly. “But I find curious the fact that you know so much about how to use Eren’s titan powers. Don’t you remember knowing anything about this?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Really?”

“What’s the point of asking me about it? I’ve already said plenty of times I don’t know why I have this power.”

“Because I want to find an explanation or make a theory or something. Eren knows he has to go to that basement in his house, he has something that could give him answers. But you don’t, that’s why I need you to tell me as much as you remember. Just answer as much as you can, okay?”

“… Fine.”

“You mentioned Eren is your childhood friend, right?”

“Right.”

“And if I recall correctly, you didn’t live in Shiganshina with him. You lived in a village in Wall Rose.”

“Yes.”

“Have you always lived there?”

_Time to lie._

“Yes I have.”

“Anything relevant to say about your family?”

“Not really. We’ve always been hunters, and neither of us had seen a titan in our lives. The first time I did was in Trost.”

“Then when did you meet Eren and how did you become friends? Living in Wall Rose, why would you go to Shiganshina?”

 _Fuck._ Adora swallowed and felt a weight on her chest. She was running out of lies and excuses. The image of her biological parents came to her mind. During all those years she had tried to avoid any conversation which had to deal with that. She didn’t know why, but even the sole memory of them made her feel really stressed. Like if talking about them was wrong. Though her parents didn’t have anything to do with her abilities, so lying about them wouldn’t hurt. Her head started to spin. “I… we…” She started breathing heavily.

“Hanji.” Levi interrupted. He had noticed her obvious discomfort. “That’s enough. You can go on with this tomorrow.”

After giving it a brief thought, Hanji nodded. “You’re right. Forgive me Adora, I should’ve taken into account you were tired.”

“It’s… it’s alright.” Adora muttered, her hands on her chest to help her breathe regularly again.

“Go to bed, brat.” Levi said, less cold than usual.

“The curfew was a while ago, shorty. She could get into trouble if someone sees her alone in the hallways.”

“So you’re telling me to go with her.”

“Basically. I have to do a couple of things before going to bed, and no one will say a thing about it if she’s with you.”

Levi sighed. “Fine. I should also go back to my room anyway. Let’s go.”

Before reaching Adora’s room, she coughed loud enough to catch Levi’s attention. He turned to look at her.

“Sir, uhm… I… about what happened before…” She started. “Thank you. For stopping Hanji.”

“Never mind.”

“I don’t want to annoy you with this but why did you do it?”

“Oh so you’re suddenly talkative?” Levi’s stoic expression didn’t change, but when he saw Adora’s cheeks went a bit red his voice was somehow not as cold as usual. “I get they’re looking for answers, but they never know when to stop. Besides, I don’t think whatever you want to hide has anything to do with your powers. You’d already said it by now otherwise.”

“H-hide?” The fact that Levi read her like an opened book made her unable to look at him in the eyes.

“There’s no use for lying now, you know. It’s obvious there’s something you don’t want to talk about, and that’s fine. You don’t have to mention it as long as it doesn’t deal with your powers. Does it?”

“It doesn’t.” _At least as far as I know._

“Then you can keep it to yourself.” They’ve already reached her room by then. “Now go to sleep.”

“Good night, Captain.”

Closing the door, with her forehead against it, Adora realised something. _He’s hiding something about his past too._

No matter how hard she tried, that night she couldn’t sleep. Images of her parents were going through her mind and she had a horrible headache. It wasn’t the first time she had trouble sleeping when someone asked her about her past. Tired of just rolling on her bed, she sat up and silently went to the kitchen after lighting a candle, hoping no one was near. What was her surprise when she saw light coming from there, and found Levi calmly holding a cup of tea in his own particular way. _Of course._

“What are you doing here?” He asked when she saw Adora standing in the doorway.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“That doesn’t mean you can leave your room without permission.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. I’ll leave then.”

When she was about to turn back, Levi’s voice stopped her. “Wait.”

“Hm?”

“I’ll let this slip. You can stay.” Hesitantly at first, she was about to enter the kitchen when she remembered she was only wearing her nightgown – apart from her underwear obviously, and felt a little exposed. She put out the candle and stepped back so the light couldn’t reach her. “What is it?” Levi asked, a little confused.

“Uhm…” She didn’t know how to word it. “I only have my nightgown on.”

“And?”

“I don’t feel comfortable with a man looking at me when I’m only wearing this.”

“And what am I supposed to do? Close my eyes while you’re here?”

“I don’t know!”

Levi sighed. He was a little amused though since he had never seen Adora’s shy side. “Come in. I won’t look at you.”

“Really?”

“Just come here and do whatever you came to do.”

“Y-yes Sir.” She slowly complied and started looking for anything that could help with her headache. Levi’s eyes were facing the wall, and his back was facing her.

“What are you looking for?”

“Something for my headache. That’s what doesn’t let me sleep.”

“Try feverfew tea.”

“Okay.” The teapot was already warm since Levi had just made tea for himself, so it didn’t take much for her to make her own. “You’re a big tea drinker, Captain.”

“Guess I am.”

“How often do you drink it?”

“What made you suddenly talk to me?”

Flustered, Adora lowered her head. It was true she now felt more comfortable with Levi, even if she was progressing little by little. “Does it bother you, Sir?” She mumbled.

“Not at all.”

She couldn’t avoid smiling, partly because seeing Levi talking to the wall was kind of funny. Pouring herself a cup of tea, she noticed again the curious way Levi held his own cup, and kept silently staring at his back for some seconds before breaking the silence. “Why aren’t you in your room, Captain?”

“I couldn’t sleep either.”

“Oh. Why no–?” She quickly shut her mouth, afraid about being now the one overstepping boundaries. Though Levi didn’t look annoyed.

“No specific reason.” If there was something, he clearly didn’t want to talk about it. “Have you made your tea?”

“Yes.”

“Good. When you finish it, you’ll immediately go back to your room. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir.” She took a sip of her tea. “You should rest too.”

“I’ll be fine. Staying here is useful to capture brats who sneak out of their rooms like you.” His words had no malice.

“So this isn’t the first time you stay awake late.”

“It isn’t. I do it very often.”

“Oh.” She said, unsure of how to answer. She then realized her shyness had decreased somehow, and felt a bit bad having Levi facing the wall all the time. “Captain.”

“Hm?”

“You can turn around.”

“Are you sure you won’t go crazy?”

“I’m sure. I was just a little ashamed.”

“A little.” He said with what it seemed like a mocking tone as he turned around. His eyes instantly darted to her.

Holding the cup of tea, Adora felt a bit embarrassed under his stare, but that was exactly what she expected. She was now used to Levi’s presence, but only when it came to work related things. So she really didn’t know how what to say when they weren’t working. Unexpectedly, he was the one who broke the silence.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“About the headache? It’d take a bit.”

“Not that.” Adora’s body tensed up. He was talking about Hanji’s little questioning. “If you don’t want to talk about it just say it.”

“No, it’s fine. And I’m somehow better.” The fact that Levi showed he was worried about her made her smile. He wasn’t at cold as he seemed after all. “Thanks for asking.”

“I’m glad.” Levi himself was surprised of how enjoyable her company was. The tender smile on her face made him feel eased.

“Captain.” She started, her expression becoming sad. “Do you find me suspicious because I don’t want to talk about my past?”

He waited almost a minute before answering. “I did at first. But if we distrust you or Eren, then what we’re doing has no sense. We have to trust you, and you two need to have faith in us. Besides, Erwin believes you don’t have a reason to lie, and he has the last word here.”

“So you trust me because you were ordered to do it, not because you truly do.” The words sounded bitterer than she wanted once they left her mouth, but Levi could tell she was disappointed rather than irritated. She wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Actually, both are correct.”

“But why? I haven’t done anything to make myself free of any suspicions.”

“You know, you may be quiet, but your face is very expressive. When Hanji touched the subject of how you met Eren, you suddenly looked between confused and horrified. Like if you were remembering something you didn’t want to. And now that thought gives you a headache and trouble sleeping.”

“I didn’t say…”

“Am I right?”

“… Yes.”

“As I was saying, if you were lying you’d probably had a fake story planned in your head to tell everyone when they ask you. But it really does look like you have no idea about your power, and that whatever you hide isn’t related to it. And apart from that, my intuition says I can trust you.”

Adora didn’t know what to say. “Captain…” She was feeling a lot of things at the same time. She felt awful because of misjudging Levi when they first met, surprised because she didn’t expect him to be that sincere… and happy to hear he trusted her. “Thank you so much.”

“You don’t have to thank me. Now finish your tea and go back to your room.”

With a warm expression, she nodded and took the last sip of her tea and then said goodbye to Levi before leaving the kitchen. Levi though he may had spoke too much, but deep inside, he found out he didn’t care.

One month passed, and Adora’s routine didn’t change. Her time was divided between experiments with Hanji and Eren, training with her friends and helping high ranks with paperwork. She took mental notes about all of them. Erwin didn’t talk much but he was always gentle and polite. Mike resembled Erwin in those aspects and he often tried to smell her, much to Adora’s discomfort. Hanji was disastrous when working on their paperwork and spent most of their time talking about titan experiments. They were really energetic and nice, but also pretty clingy. Levi on the other hand was always organized and didn’t usually speak unless it was necessary. He worked quietly and never tried to overstep boundaries. He was like Erwin but without being that nice.

One day while they were in his office, Levi noticed Adora was working slower than usual, and she looked like she was fighting not to close her eyes. She hadn’t had a day off since Eren and her were accepted in the Survey Corps, and of course Adora wasn’t immune to exhaustion. It wasn’t strange she was in that state though since she was the only cadet who did both training and paperwork without a proper rest.

Levi didn’t know why, but he couldn’t concentrate knowing she was in such state and didn’t say a thing about it. _Stupid brat._

“You look tired.” Levi said, his eyes not leaving the paper.

“Helping Hanji is tiring.”

“You’re not wrong. But you should rest. You won’t be helpful if you could fall asleep any moment now.”

“Captain, I’m okay.”

He looked at her then. “No you’re not. Your bags are worrying, and you can barely keep your eyes opened.”

Adora sighed, defeated. There was no point in contradicting him, he was right. “Fine, I’m tired.”

“I’ll talk to Erwin and see if he can give you a day off. Considering how understanding he is, he probably will. Take advantage of that and rest as much as you can, understood?”

Unable to look up from her paper, she nodded. “Yes.” She felt her chest warm. Maybe Eren and Hanji were right about him after all. “Thank you, Sir.”

As Levi said, Erwin spoke to her just a few hours after leaving Levi’s office and told her she could take the next day off. The Commander was always observing everything happening in the HQ, and he had started to notice Adora’s visible exhaustion. But he didn’t expect Levi to be the one worried about her.

Adora slept until the afternoon the next day, recovering all the sleep she hadn’t had the previous months. She wasn’t hungry, so she decided to skip lunchtime and went to the library. She hadn’t had the opportunity to investigate it and she enjoyed reading, so that was what she did.

“Adora isn’t here.” Hanji murmured, sounding a bit disappointed.

“She’s probably sleeping.” Petra guessed. “The Commander gave her a day off since she was exhausted.”

“Maybe if Hanji wasn’t constantly asking her for help with both their experiments and paperwork, she wouldn’t be that tired.” Levi said with his usual uninterested tone.

“You’re so unfair, shorty. You know I always try not to be too hard on her or Eren. Though she’s always distant no matter how hard I try to get close to her…” Hanji whined. “Maybe I did something wrong?”

“Existing.” Levi said harshly.

“And there they go again.” Petra giggled. It wasn’t the first time Hanji complained about Adora being so reserved and selective about who could touch her and who couldn’t. It wasn’t like she could complain if someone she wasn’t close to did, but she didn’t hide she didn’t like it and always flinched.

“Now I think about it, why Erwin suddenly decided to give her a day off?”

“Because Levi suggested it.” Erwin himself answered. He had just arrived.

“Shorty?” Hanji’s now widened eyes turned to Levi.

“What?” An irritated Levi said seeing Hanji didn’t stop staring.

“Nothing, nothing.” Hanji didn’t say it, but they found it really curious. Levi hadn’t ever asked for a day off himself, let alone for anyone else. It was good to see that new side of him.

Levi had just finished his own paperwork for the day, and was walking down the hall when he overheard Eren talking with Mikasa and Armin.

“Have you guys seen Adora? I want to ask her if she feels better.” Eren asked.

“She was in her room when I went to see her this morning, but now she isn’t there.” Mikasa answered.

Armin sighed. “I haven’t seen her in all day either. Maybe she’s somewhere she doesn’t go normally. Her mind probably needed a break from that routine.”

Levi though about their words for a moment. Places she didn’t normally go? The only logical place which came to his mind was the library. He found himself going there the second he thought about it.

_Checking on her won’t hurt._

Indeed, he found her there, concentrated on the book in front of her. “What are you reading?”

Levi’s voice startled her, but she quickly calmed down when she saw him. She also noticed he kept a safe distance between them, she couldn’t tell if it was for her comfort or his. Probably both. “I was curious about what’s outside the walls.”

Levi raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never read about it before?”

“I used to do it with Armin when we were kids.”

“Armin? You mean cadet Arlert?”

“Yes. He’s… another childhood friend.”

Levi didn’t say anything else. He kept staring at her, wondering if she was still uncomfortable with his presence. Adora then gave in and eyed the chair next to her as she nodded, letting him know it was fine to come closer.

“Are you feeling better?” Levi asked as he sat.

“Yes. I’ve slept a lot and it feels good to do something different. I’ve cleared my mind somehow.”

 _Just like Arlert said._ Levi thought. “Good. You better appear later at dinnertime, some people were worried about you.”

“Really?”

“Your friends were looking for you and Hanji was freaking out when they saw you weren’t in the dining hall at lunchtime.”

“I’ve only been missing for half a day and they’re already losing their minds. They’re like kids sometimes.” Adora imagined that and giggled.

Levi widened his eyes almost unconsciously. Since he met Adora he hadn’t heard her laughing even once. Smiling, yes, but not laughing. Levi didn’t exactly know how to describe how he felt.

“Captain.”

“Hm?”

“Thank you again. I needed this.”

His expression didn’t change, but he felt sort of relieved. “Your welcome.”

To the surprise of everyone except Levi, Adora showed up at dinnertime and sat with her friends. His eyes discreetly darted to her as she was being tightly hugged by a red-headed girl. He already noticed they seemed to be close, but that girl acted a lot clingier towards her than any other person. Not even Eren was like that. And Adora didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she usually smiled more when that girl was around. It made him feel strange. Adora had claimed multiple times she didn’t like physical contact unless it came from a close friend. But neither of her friends were that clingy with her. He wondered what kind of relationship they had.

“She’s back!” Hanji said cheerily referring to Adora. “Is she doing okay, shorty?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“I saw you two coming out of the library.” They solely said.

Being caught off guard, Levi sighed. “Yes, she’s doing better.”

“I’m so glad! I feel a bit guilty though, from now on I’ll try to be less hard on her… maybe with that I can get her to like me.”

“She never said she disliked you.” Petra interrupted them.

“Then why she always avoids when I try to hug her or similar things? She’s like shorty but being quiet and distant instead of rude.”

“Would you stop complaining about it at all times?” Levi sighed.

“You wish.” Hanji said, one of their fingers pressing Levi’s forehead. It was starting to annoy Levi. He had to do something before Hanji made him lose his patience.

When everyone finished eating, Levi spotted Adora leaving the dining hall with the redhead girl grabbing her by her arm.

“Sasha, let go.” Adora said. “I said I’m okay.”

_Sasha. So that’s her name._

Ignoring that fact, he walked towards her and whispered next to her ear. “My office in five minutes.” Adora shivered at the proximity, but nodded. She wanted to question him, but she knew he probably wouldn’t answer her there.

While he was waiting for Adora, Levi took a look to the papers which contained the information about all the new cadets, and looked for the one about Sasha. It didn’t take much for him to find it.

Sasha Braus.

They both had the same surname. It couldn’t be. He then looked at the names of Sasha’s relatives. And there she was.

Adora Braus, sister.

It had total sense they acted that close. He felt… surprisingly relieved. And then like an idiot. Why did he even care? Before he could think about anything else, he heard a knock on the door.

“Name and business.” He said harshly.

“I’m Adora, Sir. You told me to come here before.”

“Come in.” She entered in his office and walked until she was directly in front of him, his desk being the only thing separating them. Levi wanted to tell her to explain Hanji why she was distant so they could stop complaining, but a different question left his mouth before he could stop it. “Why don’t you let anyone touch you?”

She blinked twice before answering. She didn’t like when she was asked about that. “I don’t know what you mean, Sir.”

“Don’t play dumb with me. It isn’t the first time you avoid being touched by literally anyone who isn’t Eren or your other brat friends.”

Adora took a deep breath. “I’m just uncomfortable when people overstep boundaries. I can’t help it.”

“But you let them do it.”

“Well, because they’re my friends. I don’t mind if they do it, I’ve known them for years and I trust them.”

Levi threw his weight on his chair’s backrest. “I see.”

“Why are you asking anyway, Sir?”

“Because Hanji had been complaining about it for weeks. Not about you per se, they just think you don’t like them. And Petra had also mentioned you’re always keeping your distance.”

“Why didn’t Hanji ask me then? I do like them.”

“Because they don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. They’re probably planning to ask you about it sooner or later, when their head stops constantly thinking about titans. You know, I see perfectly understandable to let Hanji know their… displays of affection need to have a limit, I know first-hand they can be overwhelming sometimes. But they’re really trying to be nice to you, so at least let them know why you act like that. Not that I care about any of this, I just want Hanji to stop complaining, it’s really annoying. So go and tell them. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir. I’ll go to their office right now.” Adora nodded and turned around to leave the office.

“Brat.”

“Yes?”

“Bring tea when you finish with Hanji.”

With her hand on the doorknob, she waited some seconds before answering. “Okay.”

On her way to Hanji’s office, Adora had Levi on her mind. He surely was acting nicer towards her, and his company went from uncomfortable to bearable to even pleasant. He surprisingly trusted her even if it was a little, and somehow respected the limits she wanted to put. That was something she didn’t expect, given he was her superior. Once facing the door of Hanji’s office, she shook her head and knocked on it.

“Who is it?” She heard Hanji’s energetic voice.

“Adora.”

“Come in.”

Once inside, she took a deep breath. “Do you have a moment? I need to tell you something.”

“Sure! Sit here.” They answered instantly. “What do you want?”

Adora complied and sit in front of them. “Well… first I just wanted to say sorry. For being a bit rude that time you asked me about my past. I’m not used to talk about it and I don’t like sharing details about myself with someone… uhm…” She fidgeted in her seat, looking for the right words. “… I know little time. And I– wait! There’s more.” She interrupted Hanji when they were about to speak. “Since I got here, I’ve always avoided physical contact with anyone except my friends, and maybe you got the wrong idea about that. It’s not that I dislike you, because I don’t. It’s that… uhm…” She paused to breathe. She wasn’t used to talk that long with someone she didn’t fully trust.

“Take your time.” Hanji gently answered.

A few seconds after, she went on. “As I said, I don’t dislike you. You’ve been nothing but welcoming and nice to me since I got here, and I’m really grateful for that, I’m serious. The thing is… that I need time to get used to someone’s touch once we start bonding. I mean, I’ve only known you for a month, so I flinch almost by instinct when you try to show any physical affection because I’m like that. I know it’s selfish to ask for this but… I need time to get used to it. I’m so sorry.” Adora finished and lowered her head, waiting for an answer.

Hanji then let out a relieved sigh. “So it was that! I’m feeling soooo much better now I know it, I really thought you found me annoying. And it’s completely fine, take the time you need and tell me if I’m making you feel uneasy.” A smile appeared on Adora’s face. “I guess once you feel comfortable with someone touching you, that also means you’re emotionally more opened with them?”

“You could say that.”

“Alright. Then I promise to respect the limits you establish. But that doesn’t mean you’ll stop helping with paperwork or the experiments!”

“Of course not.” Her smile grew wider. “Thank you so much.”

“No worries. Before you go, I have to ask one more thing. Did shorty tell you about this matter?” Adora visibly gulped. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“But…”

“Hey, it’s fine. This is his way of dealing with me so it’s logical you knew it because of him. He ordered you to apologize, didn’t he?”

“He did. And also ordered me to bring him tea now.”

“This man…” Hanji shook their head. “Give him something to sleep, I bet he needs it.”

“Does he have trouble sleeping?”

“Not exactly. It’s that he doesn’t sleep at all.”

“At all?”

“Well, two or three hours a day, I think. He’s an insomniac.”

“I see.” She remembered that night in the kitchen with Levi. He told her that wasn’t the first time he couldn’t sleep well. It had total sense now.

“Anyway, I’m glad we were able to sort this out. You can go now.” They said waving their hand.

Back to Levi’s office, this time she chose chamomile tea. Now she knew Levi was an insomniac, maybe that would help. Though she knew he probably had already tried that method, but at least she could try.

“Chamomile?” He raised an eyebrow.

“It helps to get to sleep.”

“I know. I just didn’t expect it.”

“Why? Seeing the huge amount of it in the kitchen, I guess you already tried it.”

“I have, that’s why.”

“Haven’t you tried to make more tinctures?”

“Do you think I have time for that?” He said, eyeing the pile of papers next to him.

“True.” A thought crossed her mind. Hesitantly, she asked. “Do you ever take a day off?”

“Erwin gives me one once in a while. He decides when depending on the amount of paperwork I have and how the training with the cadets is going.”

“Then the earlier you finish your paperwork the sooner Erwin will give you a day off?”

“Most likely yes. But I can’t assure it.” His eyes left the paper and he saw Adora wasn’t working. She looked thoughtful. “Brat.” He said, catching her attention. “Paperwork.”

“Yes, Sir.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i haven’t updated since july and i have no excuse other than being busy or unmotivated ;; but here you have a 6k chapter  
> though i have the next one already written and a lot of ideas for the story, hope it was worth the wait and sorry for the possible mistakes again! though i hope my english has improved since my last update  
> unrelated but hope y’all are keeping safe during this current situation, y’know what i’m referring to  
> as always kudos and comments are appreciated, hope you enjoy it!

Adora’s day off actually ended not being as day off as expected. When she went back to Levi’s office with the tea and saw the huge pile of papers next to him, she felt like she needed to help him. Levi insisted she shouldn’t but couldn’t convince her, so she ended helping him just for a couple of hours. That was her own way of thanking him and it wasn’t like Levi let her stay more time than necessary.

As weeks passed by, Levi noticed Hanji stopped _constantly_ hugging Adora or petting her head, which meant Adora already spoke with them about it. But he also noticed Adora smiled more when she was with them. Hanji was the first person Adora willingly maintained a conversation with apart from the usual four people she was always with. Levi couldn’t help but be curious about her, about the way she’d behave when she decided to be talkative around someone.

One day, when they were at the dining hall, Levi spotted Hanji, Adora and Eren arriving together. She seemed to be happier than usual lately.

“I see your relationship with the brat is better now.” Levi said eyeing Hanji when they sat next to him.

“Uhm? Oh, yes! She’s even more interesting once she opens up to you!”

“That’s not fair, Hanji.” Petra said playfully. “I want that too.”

“Only a few privileged people get to know her.” Hanji said in the same time. “Jokes aside, I’m sure she’ll also open up to you little by little. She just needs time and seeing you actually want to get close to her.”

“Really?”

“Of course! I promise it’s worth the waiting.”

Meanwhile Adora was sitting with her friends, happily chatting. “For the thousandth time, no Eren, helping with paperwork isn’t the easy life as long as Hanji is involved in it.”

“But you just have to sit there and work, that’s much better than the experiments!”

“May I remind you I’m also present in the experiments?”

“But you’re not the experiment itself, I am! And you’ve already seen Hanji’s maniac face when they get really excited…”

“Why is Squad Leader Hanji always involved in every mess here?” Sasha asked. “I mean, they don’t look that crazy when they’re teaching.”

Adora sighed deeply. “If you didn’t spend half of the lessons distracted, you’d have noticed they _do_ go crazy when speaking about titans.”

“It’s not my fault my hunger makes me unable to pay attention!”

“Sure, keep making excuses.” Adora giggled when a pouting Sasha hit her arm. Then she noticed Levi was staring at her. He wasn’t being obvious about it; his eyes were discreetly looking in her direction and they immediately left her after she noticed. She just shrugged her shoulders and finished eating, surprised herself about not feeling uncomfortable with his staring.

Late after dinner, all cadets had a break before the curfew, so Adora bathed and went to the mess hall with her friends. What they usually did was complain about their hard training or how nervous they were about the future expedition, comment trivial things and of course gossiping. Adora usually didn’t pay too much attention to gossips, but she always ended up knowing all of them because of Sasha. Sasha, Conny, Jean and Ymir were incredibly nosy, especially when they were together, and Sasha loved to ramble about everything they found out to her friends, so they were all quite informed about every rumour in the HQ.

That night, for once, Adora was surprisingly interested in the gossip of the day: Levi.

Some cadets had seen Petra go into his office a lot lately, and of course that led people to talk. It wasn’t a secret Levi was in the fantasies of a big number of cadets, no matter their gender. Adora did find him attractive, but she wasn’t really one to have fantasies about anyone in general. She hadn’t kissed nor had sex with anyone, and didn’t want to either, at least by then.

“Do you think Petra and the Captain are together?” Sasha asked once they were all reunited.

“It could be.” Jean answered. “She’s in his squad and they seem to be very close.”

“Why do we have to talk about that midget’s love life?” Mikasa complaint with an unpleasant tone.

Armin put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. “Please, relax. If you want, we can just go anywhere else.”

“Wait a moment… Adora.” Ymir’s eyes darted to her, ignoring Mikasa’s discomfort. “You spend a lot of time with him, don’t you? Between training with his squad and paperwork stuff.”

“I’m not going to ask him about his private life.” She narrowed her eyes, knowing exactly what she was going to ask.

“Oh come on! It’s just a question!”

“But you’re the nosy ones, not me! Ask him yourselves!”

“Are you kidding?” Jean complained. “He’ll kick our asses if we do.”

“And what makes you think he won’t kick mine?”

“Because he seems to tolerate you way more than any of us. Besides, when you’re dealing with his paperwork you two are in his office alone, so you have the perfect opportunity to ask then.”

“I still don’t want to. His life isn’t our business.”

“Come on!” Conny insisted. “We won’t ask for your help for gossiping ever again!”

Adora looked at all the people sitting at the table. Sasha, Jean, Conny and Ymir were really eager to know, even Eren seemed curious about it. Mikasa was clearly annoyed and both Christa and Armin looked something between indifferent and uncomfortable. “Never again?”

“Never again!” The four gossipers said at the same time.

She then gave up, sighing. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“You’re the best.” Ymir hit her arm in a friendly way while the other two boys gave her thumbs up.

Sasha, on the other side, went straight to hug her. “Thank you.”

Next day when Adora was in Levi’s office, she tried a lot of times to bring up the question, but words just didn’t come out of her mouth. She didn’t want to annoy Levi, but at the same time she was also a bit curious and wanted her friends to stop insisting about it. It was always the same, she looked at him, made up her mind, opened her mouth, but it never worked. Levi didn’t seem to notice, or that was what she thought.

When she was about to leave, Levi stopped her. “Brat.”

“Yes, Sir?”

“Is there something you wanted to tell me?”

She started to panic. _He noticed._ “Why do you ask?”

“You looked like you wanted to several times today.”

“It’s nothing, really. Don’t mind me.”

Levi kept silent for a few seconds. “Fine. Dismissed.”

Going down the halls, on her way to meet the rest of her friends to have dinner, she run into Hanji. And then an idea popped in her mind. Hanji and Levi had known each other for many years, and even if it sometimes seemed like Levi couldn’t stan them, they both were really close. Maybe Hanji knew those kinds of details, and she felt more comfortable asking them rather than Levi.

“Hey Adora! Do you come from helping the shorty?”

“I do.” She nodded. “And you were right.” She said trying to make a conversation. “Once you get used to him and his temper, it gets better.”

Hanji laughed with their hands on their hips. “See? He’s just a bit difficult.”

“He sure is.” She then swallowed. “Actually, Hanji… can I ask you something? About the Captain?”

Hanji raised their eyebrows in curiosity. “I can’t assure that I’ll answer you, but sure, you can ask. Shoot.”

“Are Captain Levi and Petra in a relationship?” _Straight to the point._

“Huh?” After that single word, Hanji started laughing. “Them? Together? Are you kidding me?”

“Don’t laugh!” Adora said in embarrassment. “I wasn’t the one who wanted to know.”

“Alright, alright!” They slowly stopped and petted her head. “Why did you want to know then?”

Adora let a deep sigh. “My friends were gossiping about it yesterday and wanted me to ask him since I spend a lot of time with him.”

“Then why didn’t you ask him personally?”

“I couldn’t! That’s like invading his privacy.”

“But you still asked me.”

“Well… yes. I wanted them to leave me alone.”

“Just admit you were also curious about it. I won’t get mad.”

She sighed. “Okay, I was. Just a bit.”

“Knew it, but I don’t blame you or your friends for it though. Levi hates to admit it, but he attracts a lot of people, so it’s only normal this kind of rumours end up spreading among all cadets.”

“I guess it is.” Adora acknowledged, remembering all the times she had heard both male and female cadets murmuring about how hot he was.

“Does he attract _you_?” Hanji asked as they smirked.

“Me?” She suddenly got a bit nervous. “I don’t think so. I mean, he’s indeed attractive and smart and a good leader and soldier, but that’s it.”

“I see.” Their smirk didn’t go away. “Anyway, now you can inform your friends about it. Don’t tell them I said it and I won’t tell Levi about this.”

“Deal. See you later Hanji!”

The moment she arrived at the dining hall, Sasha grabbed her arm and made her sit at a table, all of their friends surrounding her.

“So?” Jean started. “What did he say?”

“Come on spit it.” Ymir got a bit closer along with Conny.

“Guys.” Sasha interrupted them. “Keep your distance, please.” The potato girl was as curious as the rest of them, but first of all wanted her sister to feel comfortable. Though none of them actually moved away, all of them being around her.

Adora gave her a soft smile and mouthed a _thank you_ before looking back to the others. She wanted to get over with that since having three people too close to her wasn’t really of her liking. “They’re not together.”

A disappointed groan came from all of them among a few comments which said they were expecting otherwise.

“It really seemed like they were.” Conny sighed.

“It has sense though.” Jean started. “Captain Levi a short, moody, grumpy and horribly demanding old man. Couldn’t imagine having him as a partner.”

“Totally.” Conny nodded.

“Don’t you have anything better to do in your free time that you badmouth your superiors?” Everyone froze. That deep voice was so recognisable.

When they all turned around, Levi was behind them with his arms crossed and a nonchalant expression plastered on his face. He didn’t look very angry though.

“C-captain.” Conny muttered.

“I-I’m sorry…” Jean tried to fix what he had just said while Conny, Sasha and Ymir only swallowed. Ymir was the least intimidated one though. Adora then noticed she hadn’t seen Levi coming because Ymir was in front of her, and she was way taller than him. She tried to avoid giggling, but a small smile appeared on her face, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Levi.

“I don’t care if you don’t like me.” Levi went on. “But at least talk somewhere I can’t hear you.” The boys and Sasha nodded nervously. “Now go away. I need to talk to her.” His eyes were on Adora.

“Yessir.” Jean, Conny and Sasha saluted and run away, Ymir following them walking slower.

Adora giggled and looked at them before her gaze met Levi’s, waiting for him to speak. Though he didn’t. “I thought you wanted to tell me something.”

Levi shook his head. “You looked uncomfortable.” He solely said, and she understood that was just an excuse. Levi didn’t care who badmouthed him, he just approached them because he saw Adora wasn’t feeling very well surrounded by that much people and them being so close to her.

He was trying to be nice to her, she realized, even if it was in his own way. “Thank you.” She then wondered if he had heard the rest of their conversation where they mentioned his relationship-thing with Petra. If he heard it, he didn’t say it, and she didn’t risk asking.

“Never mind.” He said. “What were you laughing about earlier?”

Her body stiffened for a moment, but she then noticed she wasn’t afraid of him or his possible reaction. That was something. “I found funny that I didn’t see you coming because of how short you are. Also, Ymir was towering over me.”

Levi just raised his eyebrows and waited a few seconds until he started talking. “Do you agree with that horse-face guy?”

“What do you mean?”

“What he said about me.” His voice was kind of smooth, and he sounded like he wanted a genuine answer.

“Well, it’s true you’re short. And grumpy. And moody. And demanding – not horribly, but still demanding.” He frowned a bit. “But that isn’t necessarily bad. Once one gets used to spend time with you, you’re much nicer. And I can’t say if you’re old since I don’t know your age.”

Levi’s frown was gone, and he was quite satisfied with what she said. She had been blunt and honest, and he really liked that. He then noticed she had a pleading look on her face but didn’t say the question out loud. _She wants to know my age._ “32.” He just said.

“Oh.” She didn’t expect him to tell her, so her eyes went wide open for a moment. “Then you’re not that old.”

“ _That_ old?”

“I mean, compared to me, it’s almost a ten-year age difference. You look younger though. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“You better not.” He said as he softly petted her head. “Go to your room.”

“Alright. Good night, Captain.” With a dumb smile, she nodded and headed to her room, turning around just a moment murmuring a low _thank you_ loud enough for Levi to heart it. She didn’t see it, but Levi kept looking at her back until she was out of his sight.

“You irremediably silly brat…”

❖

For the first time in almost four months, the Survey Corps were given a day off. Some cadets went to visit their families, some were willing to spend all day sleeping, others went to buy things in the city… everyone had their own plans. Adora’s ones didn’t go as she initially wanted though. Eren and her weren’t allowed to leave the HQ, so she wanted to spend the day doing whatever with Sasha. Unfortunately for Adora, her sister was offered to go to the city with Christa and Ymir, so Adora understood it. Then she asked Eren, but apparently him, Mikasa and Armin had something to do there. She didn’t insist, so in the end, she thought about just spending the day taking strolls around the HQ or reading in the library.

On her way to the library, she was walking so distractedly that she bumped into Hanji. After apologizing, she noticed Levi was next to them. As far as she knew, they both still had to finish some important paperwork before their day was completely work-free.

“Why do you look so sad?” Hanji tilted their head. Adora looked away and cursed herself silently for not being able to hide her emotions properly.

“I was just distracted.” That was kind of true though.

“Your face says otherwise.” She then remembered Levi’s words: _You may be quiet, but your face is very expressive_. It seemed to be true.

Adora pouted before answering. She didn’t mind telling Hanji and talking about it would probably help to feel better. “Are you busy right now?”

“I have to finish some paperwork… but I can go on with it later.”

“No way. I don’t want you to leave your work unfinished because of m–”

“Sush.” Hanji put a finger on her lips. “I said I’ll go on with it later. Now come to my office and tell me what has you so down. Do you mind, Levi?”

“No. I’ll leave you two alone, just don’t forget to finish what you have to do.”

“I won’t. Come on dear!” They grabbed Adora’s arm and lead her to their office. None of them saw it, but Levi widened his eyes at Hanji’s gesture. He didn’t expect their relationship to grow that fast. For someone who was uncomfortable with just the proximity of strangers, that was sure an improvement.

“Fine.” Nodding without energy, Adora followed Hanji to their office, and they both sat on the couch near the desk. All high ranks had one.

“I’m all ears.” Hanji said.

Adora waited a few seconds before answering and pouted even more. “I was planning to spend my day off with my friends today.” She started in low voice. “But all of them already had something planned to do, plans apparently I can’t take part in, so I’m just sad about it.”

“How come all of them are busy?”

“I first asked Sasha and she told me she was going to the city with Christa and Ymir. Since Eren and I aren’t allowed to leave this place, I was hoping to spend it with him, Mikasa and Armin, but they’re also busy. And the four people I’ve mentioned are the only ones I trust enough to spend time with… this is so unfair…” She whined.

Hanji giggled at a whiny Adora. They didn’t like to see her upset, but also couldn’t avoid being amused at these new facets of her. “I can spend some time with you if you don’t mind.”

“But didn’t you have to finish something?”

“I have. But I’ll be free soon, that’s why I said it. It’s okay if you don’t want to.”

“No! I mean… I want to. I really do.” She said as a warm smile appeared on her face. Hanji had been so respectful towards her since their little talk about Adora’s discomfort when it came to physical contact, and they always saved little time to speak with her every time they could. Hanji found Adora interesting, and since they worked together doing both experiments and paperwork, they spent a lot of time together, making them start bonding little by little.

Besides, Hanji’s interest was more than only finding more about her titan-controlling powers. They wanted to know if her extreme discomfort towards physical contact was innate or acquired. Of course, it was a normal thing finding the touch of a stranger uncomfortable, but Adora’s case was so _extreme_.

“You should smile more. It suits you.” Hanji suddenly said, their eyes shining. “Can I hug you?”

The fact that they asked never failed to make her smile. “Yes.” Hanji’s hugs were always tight and lasted way more than Adora was used to, but that didn’t mean she didn’t like them.

“I’ll finish as soon as I can and then look for you. Where will you be?”

“Hm… in the library. I want to read something.”

She then said goodbye to Hanji and went straight to the library. She had in mind exactly what she was looking for: a book about herbal uses and tinctures. Adora had been wanting to inform herself about it since she knew Levi was an insomniac. She wanted to help him get to sleep, or at least try to do it.

She found a book about herbal tinctures and started to read it, trying to keep in mind which plants she could find in the surroundings of the old HQ, or which ones she could ask Sasha to buy next time she went to the city. She spent almost an hour making small notes on a paper while reading the book when someone startled her from behind.

“Brat.” She turned around and saw Levi behind her. That made her jump on her chair, close the book instantly and hold it to her chest. “What were you reading?”

“Nothing.”

Levi blinked twice, half curious about the book she wanted to hide so badly. He somehow enjoyed seeing flustered Adora since that didn’t happen often. Not in front of him at least. “Whatever, Hanji sent me here to tell you they just finished with whatever they were doing, and they’re waiting for you in the mess hall.”

“You did something Hanji told you to do?” Adora raised her eyebrows.

“I had to come here anyway. Now don’t make them wait or they’ll start to complain.”

She nodded, shoving the paper into her pocket and quickly putting the book back in the bookshelf, not giving Levi the chance to see even its cover.

While waiting for Adora, Hanji saw Eren, Mikasa and Armin going into the HQ.

“Hey you three!”

Eren immediately stopped. “Hi Hanji. Do you want something?”

“I want explanations.” They said, their expression a bit serious.

“Excuse me?”

“Is something going on between Adora and you? I mean, it seemed like neither her sister nor you wanted her around today. I’m not trying to pry, but that could really be a problem taking into account you work together.”

“Oh, that.” Eren breathed, seeming relieved. “I thought I messed up. Alright, I promise we have an explanation for that, and no, neither of us have a problem with her.”

“Your reasons must be good enough for how sad she is.”

“Her birthday’s in a few days.” Mikasa said plainly. “Sasha went to buy a present for her among other things and we also wanted to make something. That’s all.”

“We didn’t want her to be sad, but we couldn’t avoid that if we wanted to keep it a secret.” Armin added then, his voice low. “We’ll apologize, we promise.”

Hanji waited a few seconds before speaking, but they nodded. “I understand.”

“Thanks Hanji.” Eren said. “Please don’t tell her.”

“I won’t. Now go before she runs into you.”

Just a moment after they left, Adora came into Hanji’s view. They noticed she seemed a bit happier and offered her to take a stroll together and talk about anything non work-related so she could clear her mind. And Adora, with a tiny smile, accepted.

It had been like an hour since Hanji and Adora had gone out, and Levi was on his way to his office with the intention of going on with his paperwork. High ranks never really had free time in the same way the cadets did, so progressing with his current work was the most productive thing he could do.

Going down the halls, Levi looked through the window and spotted Hanji and Adora hanging out outside, not really far from the entrance of the HQ. Even if Adora was feeling down, she looked much happier then, and couldn’t help but wonder once again how she would act around those she considered her friends. He was also a bit mad about Adora’s friends leaving her alone their day off, and he didn’t know exactly why. Her reasoning was that after all he had some appreciation towards her and thought she didn’t deserve that.

He looked closely saw Adora smiling widely. He kept looking at her and acknowledge she was very pretty. Her dark hair hoovered over her shoulders and her blue eyes were beautiful but lacking their usual happiness. Since it was a day off, she wasn’t wearing her uniform but a white plain shirt and a skirt which reached her knees instead.

He found himself a bit envious of Hanji. And he wasn’t proud of it. He couldn’t deny to himself that by then he hardly saw Adora as a titan-controller monster but rather as a timid girl who was trying to deal with this new environment she had been forced into, as well as her titan powers. He could also tell she was smart and had a very intuitive mind, and even though she had a hard time expressing how she felt, she was always honest about her feelings and spoke her mind when she had to.

He had grown fond of her. If he had to name it, he’d say he considered her a friend. He liked the time they spent together even if they most of it they were working and wanted to know more about her. He wondered what was she talking about with Hanji when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Levi.” When he turned around, he saw Mike next to him. “Erwin is calling. Get Hanji. It won’t take long.” Always so talkative. Levi just nodded and headed to where Hanji was, not surprised at all about the meeting.

“Four-eyes.” Levi called.

“Oh, hey shorty. Did you want something?”

“Erwin is calling.”

“I see.” Hanji gave a deep sigh, clearly not wanting to leave Adora.

“He said it shouldn’t take long.”

Hanji petted Adora’s head. “I have to leave. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, you have things to do. Sasha should be back anytime, so I’ll just go outside and wait for her. Thank you for today Hanji.” She smiled kindly and went outside. Adora knew Sasha would still be out for a few hours but didn’t want to worry Hanji.

On their way to Erwin’s office, Hanji spoke up. “She seems happier now, doesn’t she?”

“She does. Only if the brats weren’t so careless.”

“What do you mean?”

“She always says her friends care about her so much, but then leave her alone their day off. Brats are such hypocrites.”

Hanji scoffed. “You know nothing shorty.”

“And you do?”

“If you must know, yes I do. They didn’t abandon her; they had their reasons.”

“And those reasons would be?”

“Why do you want to know?” Hanji asked with a smirk. “Are you going to scold them for hurting your favourite brat?”

“You’re horribly stupid.”

“Yeah, whatever you say. Anyway, I don’t want you to be mad at them.” Levi sighed but let them go on. “Her sister went to the city to buy presents for her, and the other three are trying to look for other gifts to give her here.”

“Gifts?”

“It’s her birthday in a few days, dummy. They wanted to give her a surprise, that’s why they made up excuses for when she asked. I bet you didn’t expect that.”

Levi took a few seconds to assimilate all the new information and gave a deep sigh as he realized he had been stupid once again. “Alright. My question is, how exactly did you find out all of that?”

“Well, as you, I also didn’t like the way they acted towards her and asked Eren to explain himself when I run into him, so he told me.”

“ _As me_?”

“Oh come on, you can’t lie to me about it. Why would you ask me if you weren’t worried about her and how she felt?”

“If she’s down, she’ll train clumsily and work slowly, and that means trouble to all of us.”

“Sure, keep telling that to yourself.”

It had been almost an hour since Hanji left with Levi, and Adora was in the garden, the list of herbal ingredients for tinctures in her hand. She was so concentrated in looking for the exact ingredients when a voice behind her startled her and made her jump.

“Brat.”

“C-captain! Weren’t you at a meeting with Hanji and the Commander?”

“We’ve just finished.” He then eyed her hand full of flowers and herbs. “What do you have there?”

“Oh.” She remembered what she was doing. “Nothing.”

Levi narrowed his eyes a bit, clearly not buying it. “You’ve being very secretive lately, haven’t you?”

“Maybe.” She looked away. “Just unimportant things. Why did you come here anyway? Did you want something?”

“Just making sure you didn’t go too far. Remember the Government thinks you and Eren are treated like monsters, no one can see you two run freely.”

Even if his words were harsh, he was right. “Sorry, I’ll go inside again.”

“It’s alright if you’re with me. Besides, I highly doubt someone will come here unless the Government has a good reason. They’re too scared of you and him.”

She chuckled. “Do I look that frightening?”

“Without your uniform, picking flowers and with leaves on your head? Certainly.”

“Leaves? I spent too much time under the trees.” She waved a hand over her head trying to pick the leaves but didn’t pick any.

Next thing she knew, Levi’s hand was above Adora’s head, but didn’t touch it. Instead, he waited until she nodded to go on and dusted the leaves off.

“Captain.”

“Hm?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“I may not answer, but shoot.”

“Why do you respect my boundaries?”

Out of all questions, Levi didn’t expect that one. He took a few seconds before coming up with something to say. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You don’t do it with the rest of cadets. I mean, at least you don’t seem to care.”

“They need hard treatment.”

“And I don’t?”

“Not in the same way as them.”

“What do you mean?”

“You ask a lot of questions.”

She covered her mouth with one hand. “Sorry.”

Trying to change the subject, Levi eyed her hands. “Were you picking flowers to kill time or what?”

“Actually…” She giggled softly. “I had a purpose. But it’s ridiculous.”

Before Levi could say a thing, they heard a voice near calling her name. “That’s Sasha.” Levi saw her face light up for a bit, but that disappeared almost instantly.

“Don’t spin your head. Think they may have their reasons.”

“I guess.” She sighed. “I still missed them though.”

“Aren’t you angry?”

She shook her head. “They have the right to do whatever they want. I’m not saying I’m happy with that but… what else can I do.”

Levi’s gaze softened as he looked at her. She was too kind and comprehensive. He then almost instinctively laid a hand on her head and petted it soft and slowly. She didn’t complain, and closed her eyes for a few seconds, enjoying the sensation.

When the voices came closer, Levi moved away his hand and gestured to the crowd of cadets coming back in the distance. “Go.”

Adora nodded and went towards them, though his voice wasn’t commanding. “Thank you.” She murmured loud enough so he could hear it. “Again.”

Two days later, Levi dismissed Adora from training to work with paperwork with him like he did every day. Just when she was about to leave the training grounds, Sasha grabbed her sleeve.

“I’m very thirsty. Please ask the Captain if I can go with you for a bit just to drink water.”

“Again, asking me to speak with him? I’m not your messenger.”

“Please! He’ll listen to you.”

“Sasha, I–”

“Please… I may die of thirst…” Sasha pleaded.

“Alright! Alright!” She turned around pouting and went towards Levi.

“Captain.”

“Hm?”

“Can Sasha come with me to the kitchen and drink some water? She literally said she was going to die of thirst.”

Levi’s instant answer would’ve been no if any other person would’ve asked. By then, he was fully aware of Sasha’s massive hunger. Having her hungry was already a problem, and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with her thirst as well.

“Alright.” He finally said. “I want her back to train with Hanji in ten minutes.”

“Thank you.” She said with a smile. “I’ll make some tea and go to your office.”

Levi just nodded and went into the HQ while Adora and Sasha went to the kitchen, the latter thanking her sister way too many times.

“Are you still making that strange tea for him?” Sasha asked once they were in the kitchen.

“Yes. In fact, I think it’s ready.”

“I still don’t understand why you’re so fixated with doing this for him though. He’s scary.” Sasha complained as she saw how Adora was making the tea.

“He’s not. And I’m not fixated with it, I just want to thank him because of all he’s done for me.”

“Well it has sense since he does act differently towards you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember Jean said he tolerates you more than the rest of us? Well that’s for starters. When he gets angry when someone fucks up during the training, he screams at them non-stop, but when you make any mistake, he just tells you something along the lines of _I know you can do better_ and just lets you be. And he seems in a better mood after you’ve been helping with his paperwork. Also, he lately stares at you a lot during the meals. And look right now, you asked if I could go with you because I was thirsty, and he said yes. If I had been the one who asked he would’ve sure said no.”

“Why didn’t you tell me all of this earlier?”

“I thought you’ve noticed by now.”

Adora thought about it for some seconds but decided not to give it much importance. Alright, maybe Levi was a bit fond of her. What about it? “Whatever. You were supposed to drink water and go back, so you better get going or he’ll get angry at me.”

“I doubt it.”

“Sush.” She said taking the tray with the tea. “See you later.”

Once Adora entered Levi’s office, she calmly left the tray on the table and started to work as she always did. A few minutes later when the tea wasn’t boiling hot, Adora poured him a cup and sat down again.

Levi looked closely at it before his gaze reached her face. “I don’t recall this was among the tea we have here.”

“It isn’t.” Her eyes didn’t leave the paper though. “I made it myself.”

“You?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I wasn’t aware you knew how to make tea.”

“I’ve been learning how to do it little by little for a while.”

“Why?”

“Because,” She looked at him then. “This may help you to sleep more.”

“So you picking up plants, reading books so secretively…” Levi suddenly came to the realization, and his face showed it because Adora giggled. “Was all because of this?”

“Yes.”

He kept looking at her for a few seconds. That was certainly unexpected, and he did appreciate it, but still… “I don’t understand.”

“What exactly?”

“Why did you do all of this? You had no reason to.”

“I have.” She smiled. “Even if we started a bit oddly, you’ve helped me a lot since I got here. You know me enough to tell when I’m tired or worried and notice how _expressive_ my face is. Besides, I really appreciate the fact that you respect my boundaries and, correct me if I’m wrong, you worry about me. In your own special way, but you do.” Adora then felt like she was talking too much, but Levi didn’t look irritated in the slightest. Just curious and a bit surprised. “I just wanted to thank you.”

Levi’s expression then turned warm enough for her to notice. “You’ve become more talkative around me.”

She became a bit nervous. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing so much, I didn’t say I dislike it. Besides, you’re not wrong about what you said. You’ve mentioned I’m able to notice little changes on you. That’s true.” Adora raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. “So I’ve noticed you’ve been working a lot recently. I don’t know if it’s only with me, but I have a lot less of work because of your effort.”

“Really?” Her face lightened up.

“Uh-huh. Why did you do that?”

“You said once that if you work enough and get rid of the current paperwork you have now, there was the possibility of the Commander giving you a day off.”

“Was that your intention?”

“Absolutely. You need to rest.”

Levi didn’t exactly know how to feel. That was the second time she did something for him, and he could tell her intentions were completely genuine. Besides, she was a lot more herself around Levi by then after all the time they spent together, and Levi found himself liking that more than he expected.

She wasn’t however, acting with him like around Hanji or her friends. He understood it, but deep inside still wanted her to do it.

“Then if you don’t mind,” He started. “I’ll be having this tea for a few days.”

She smiled widely. “Leave that to me. I take you liked it then.”

“It tastes good and trying to see if it works won’t hurt.” He hesitated to continue for a bit but ended up speaking anyway. “If you need extra time to make it, you can come to my office later than usual. But not too much.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Because of your effort my amount of work has been drastically reduced, so it’s fine. Besides, I don’t need a reason. I decide what you do the time you spend with me.”

She smiled a bit playfully. “Of course, Captain.”


End file.
